geoflewis

What a superb image, well done and congratulations.

well.... I can live with it. Seriously is a superb image and the blue reflection still looks great

Hi @cuivenion, so I'm much more familiar with ImagesPlus (IP) than PS, so I decided to teach myself / relearn how to create & use masks there, then did all the processing for this version in IP, so here it is. It took a couple of attempts to get something that I was satisfied with, hence the v3... M82_LHaRGB(v3)_IP.tif I think this version protects the galaxy details better, but please let me know what you think. Many thanks

Very nice result Dave. Your processing is really good, I like the softness of the blue reflection regions, which looks very natural to my eye, whereas it can appear too harsh in some images that I've seen. Well done.

So now I have something to do tomorrow......

So you are right, it is in the lum processing. Here is the HaRGB on its own (says LRGB, but is actually HaRGB), plus the Lum before and after star reduction. M82_MixLRGB-Hue_IP.tif M82_L_CombineFilesSigMed_NoStarRed.tif M82_L_IP.tif Now I need to learn how to process this better. Great catch and thanks for putting me onto it... ....and here is the lum with the galaxy masked star reduction... M82_L_Masked Star Reduction.tif

Thanks, I can now see what you are referring to, so that gives me something to watch out for. That said I'm not sure how to perform star reduction in ImagesPlus with a mask, so maybe I'll leave it out completely and see what I get. It's always great to get constructive criticism, so thanks for pointing it out.

Very nice Kevin. Look forward to seeing the full version sometime.

Thanks Craney, go for it 😉. I look forward to seeing it.

Thanks for the explanation. Here's the Tiff image before I took it into photoshop. M82_LHaRGB_IP.tif All the processing up to that point was using ImagesPlus astro processing software, but even there I did run star reduction on the lum channel before blending with the HaRGB, so is this still showing the artefacts as I can't see much difference in the galaxy, other than it is softer as I hadn't applied any sharpening at that point. It doesn't help that I don't know what I'm looking for 🥴. I'll have to go back to the start and see if I can identify what and where the issue arises. Any additional pointers would certainly help please.

Thanks @cuivenion, I have no idea what morphological transform is, but I did do some star size reduction using Noel's actions in PS. Can you explain more about what it is that you are seeing, maybe crop a specific region, so that I can take a better look. Many thanks

Wow, many thanks for those very generous comments @Sunshine.

Thanks Dave

Many thanks @tooth_dr. My bad, I should have listed the gear when I posted it, so I'll go back and add that. I was using a C14 with a x0.67 telecompressor, giving an effective focal length of approx 2.6m.

Thanks both, I'm glad I processed what I had. Maybe I can start on another target next clear skies, though I may also go back to shoot some Ha for IC342.

Here's my 2nd image of 2020, mostly captured later on the same recent run of clear nights that I was imaging IC342, though I did capture the Ha earlier in Dec when the Moon was up. The image comprises L=21x600s; Ha=9x900s; RGB(each)=24x300s, all captured through my C14 XLT plus Optec x0.67 telecompressor, with my QSI583wsg-5 camera using Astronomic filters . I would have liked more Ha, but since the forecast for the next few days is not good, I thought I'd take a look at what I already had, so here it is... Thanks for looking.

Hi Rodd, Well those certainly set a high bar. I think I came across them when I researching the galaxy as a possible target, but didn't look to see what data was included, so many thanks for making me take another look.

Thanks Rodd, As I mentioned in my reply to Thommy, I did wonder if adding Ha might be worth a try, so thanks for confirming it. Cheers,

Very nice Dave and despite not shooting any very short exposures, zooming the very bright core still reveals both the trapezium and your excellent processing skills. A great night's work all round, with you donating your quiz winnings to charity

Hi Carole, sorry to be obtuse, but actually I prefer V1. My comment about the pinkish look wasn't a criticism, just an observation and I liked how it turned out. V2 looks more smoked salmon coloured I think.... Geof

Yep, a dual rig would be nice, but I can just see the withering look from my wife when I tell her I now want 2 of everything- she already thinks I'm still a spoilt child.....🙄

What a great project Emil and a superb result. 40 hours to stack 22 hours data - is that a steam laptop you're using? 😏 Seriously, it was worth the wait . Cheers, Geof

OMG Dave, just the 42 hours..!! - that's about 3 times more data than I've ever done on a single target, but boy it was worth it; what a stunning image. Revisiting M51 is on my potential list for this year, but I'd be pleased to get 12-15 hours on it, though increasingly I'm seeing the value of 'more is actually better than less'..... Cheers, Geof

Thanks Mark, I appreciate the generous feedback, but even more so that it took you back a few years to your own visual observation. It's great when something happens to invoke a previous memory, whether that is astro related or not, so thanks for sharing that. September 2012 was just 6 months after I took early retirement, following redundancy and was just getting back into astronomy after decades of doing virtually nothing with what started out as a childhood hobby. I spent a chunk of my redundancy on a 2nd hand 10" Meade LX200, tripod and EQ wedge. Having only ever done visual astronomy, it was around that time I got the idea of dabbling with AP and I think I took my first very streaky image of M31, not realising that the equatorial mount works also need to be guided...!! That got me on the very expensive journey to where I am today (literally, as it also saw me move from LP Surrey to dark sky Norfolk)..... Cheers, Geof

Hi Carole, I think this turned out really well. My initial impression was it was a bit smooth, but the longer I look the more detail I see and the more I like it. I think that the Ha has given it a slightly pink look, which can often happen with Ha, but it is still a very pleasing image. Geof