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Very many thanks Robin. I would usually use 300s subs for a target like this, and collect a lot more data. I'm honestly not sure why I chose to take 180s subs - think I was just trying to see how it would come out... BTW, I went through a phase of capturing different length subs for each of the RGB channels but don't bother now; the Astrodon filters mean that you're not suppose to need to do that but even when I was using Baader filters then it didn't seem to make much difference to the end result. Only having 27 minutes worth of data in the blue channel was a real challenge, I have to say, and there is no doubt that the image has suffered as a result. Having processed the data a couple of times it's my view that an hour per channel of decent subs would really be the minimum for 180s sub-exposures and it really should be at least 2 hours per channel. Obviously the more data the better, weather permitting, and I ideally I personally aim for around 4 hours per channel in 300s subs (as I did for recent images of M94 and C32 - the latter needs a full reprocess as the data is better than my processing skills would suggest) as I don't see much of an improvement with more data than that on galaxies. Clear skies, Ian

Many thanks for the comment Tomato. I must I didn't find the colours particularly strong, but then I don't have much data, obviously. I've rediscovered the LAB colour boost process that boosts saturation without introducing too much chromatic noise and applied that, but not at full strength. I also ran a couple of different processes, one gave the galaxy a very yellow colour, and the second much bluer. The final images above are all composites of the two with the yellower version used just for the core of the galaxy. I actually did the same thing with a recent image of M94 too as I quite like the result...

In case it's of interest I had a go at processing this with a false luminance made up of a stack of all of the RGB subs. It's allowed me to stretch the data and sharpen it a bit more...

Cheers Mark - very kind of you.

Absolute cracker Ian - well done and thanks for sharing.

Or buy a dehumidifier - endless supply of distilled water then 🙂

Thanks Martin & Richard - very kind of you. Clear skies, Ian

Hi all, Had to work very hard to get anything vaguely decent from this data as I only had 9 usable 180s subs in the blue channel so lots of noise... I also had some nasty dust bunnies in the green channel and no flats. Data captured on one night in March (in fact the morning of the 28th)... I'd held off processing it as I intended to collect more data as this was really me just shaking a new scope down and getting SGPro auto-focus etc sorted but the then bad weather meant that months later when we finally got some clear skies I quite forgot it as I grabbed data for the Whale and M94. It's a bit low in the sky now for me so won't get a chance to add any more data until next year. As a result I've processed two versions... the first with a more gentle stretch to the background so that the noise isn't too noticeable. I guess I could have gone more aggressive with the noise reduction in PixInsight but I dislike the vaseline look when over applied so was maybe a bit cautious. M98 doesn't seem to be imaged all that often for some reason but I hope one day to capture all of the Messier objects so this was another one to tick off. It's classed as an intermediate spiral and lies around 44 million light-years from Earth. It can be found in the constellation Coma Berenices and is part of the Virgo Cluster. Taken with this summer's galaxy hunting kit: CEM60EC; SW Esprit 150; Atik EFW2 with Astrodon filters; Atik OAG, QHY5L II with PHD2; Atik 460ex. R: 18 x 180s, G 16 x 180s, B 9 x 180s for a total integration time of just 2.15 hours. Captured with SGPro and processed in PI and PS. Won't win any awards but I'm pleased to get anything out of such a skinny data set. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Ian

That's absolutely stunning Richard.

Lovely image Adam - well done.

Happens to me all the time too!

Lovely stuff. The first colour version is my favourite.

Amazing isn't it... I do it all the time. I realised when I posted an image of M94 this weekend that I hadn't included the sharpened layer when I flattened the image...

Oh I dunno... it's always good to see things done in a different way. Maybe try an HOO version too? Obviously the [OIII] line is between green and blue so you get reasonably natural star colour.

You cut back on the saturation Mark? Holy moly - what was it like before 🤣!

Certainly a different take on the Crescent. This sort of thing isn't usually my mug of lapsang souchong, but I really like what you've done.

Both lovely images Martin - it seems churlish to even mention it but is that a stacking artefact on the left-hand side? I must admit that I too prefer the first version... though I am sure that many will prefer the second so it's good that you posted both! Cheers, Ian

Anyone know the angular size of the jet?

Incidentally the data will stand much more colour saturation but I think this is more me.

Duplicate post!

Thank you Martin - that's very kind especially as it was your excellent tutorials that got me started. I feel I am finally getting somewhere near where I was before a work enforced break of 4 years so I appreciate the encouragement.

Many thanks for the comment Mars. Thanks Mark - it's good of you to comment. I appreciate it. Thanks Robin, much appreciated. I really enjoyed this one.

There always is with this hobby! Well that's very kind of you. I had a four-year, work enforced, break from imaging so to be honest it feels like I am having to learn just about everything over again but it's fun and I have a few images that need to go up on the website and a few more that I'm not happy with and need re-processing... Cheers, Ian

I think the result proves otherwise!

That's a very nice rendition for 3 hours worth of data at that focal length / f-ratio. Having captured the same object with the same scope I know it's not easy! I actually prefer the slightly wider-field version but both are lovely.