IC 405 : The Flaming Star Nebula Round II with Ha added

[Catanonia]

I am loving this new scope and the speed of it. I got home this afternoon and the weather was looking great for some imaging, crystal clear but with cloud cover coming in with the fog and frost in my region.

Normally I would not even bother to frustrate myself with pulling back the roof and going through the disapointment of seeing the clouds after a couple of hours.

But not now and I managed to get 10 x 10 minute unbinned Ha 8nm subs to add to my IC 405 flaming star nebula and I think it has paid off.

The previous thread from last night is here http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/173516-flaming-star-nebula.html

That was 2.9 hours LRGB from another grab and go during the cloud break and now I have reprocessed from the bottom up with the 100 minutes of Ha data I captured.

I also learned a few lessons on the processing and forced myself back to basics on curves / levels and overall stretching. I think it has paid off, but I will let you be the judge of that.

So here is 4.5 hours on the faint IC 405 Flaming Star Nebula in Auriga taken from my back yard next to the M6 Motorway and Sandbach town. Boy would I love to take this scope to a proper dark sky site.

I still have some star issues at the corners, so I need to check my spacing again

Details

IC 405 "Flaming Star Nebula" in Auriga

Day 1 : 2.9 hours in equal 5min unbinned Luminance and 2.5 min RGB x 2 binned

Day 2 : 100 mins in 10 min unbinned Ha 8nm

Scope : TS SuperNewt carbon 200mm FL 568mm @F2.8 with corrector

Camera : QHY9 Mono with QHY 2inch Filters

Guide : TS OAG, QHY5, PHD, NEQ6 Mount

Software : PixInsight and CS5 + a little Noels actions for selections on stars to reduce bloat.

EDIT : Here is my previous best 8 hour attempt with the Skywatcher MN190 Astrograph @ F5.3 http://stargazerslounge.com/attachments/imaging-deep-sky/53661d1300393065-flaming-star-nebula-ic-405-mn190.jpg

I hope you like it.

Cat

[Daniel-K]

adding that HA has done good great image,are you adding more?

[Zul]

Stunning image!!

[Quatermass]

fantastic image great job

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk

[Digz]

Beautiful. Just shows what can be done with a little perserverance and going back to basics every now and then.

Any chance you can post the previous version and this one side by side?

[Catanonia]

Beautiful. Just shows what can be done with a little perserverance and going back to basics every now and then.

Any chance you can post the previous version and this one side by side?

yes sometimes a rethink and back to basics works better than banging your head. The original is linked in the top post.

[Digz]

yes sometimes a rethink and back to basics works better than banging your head. The original is linked in the top post.

It certainly does.

Saw the link but Im findng it difficult to compare the two images side by side (unless there is a little trick I can use with my browser to show them?)

[ollypenrice]

I really hoped you'd get the Ha for this. It looks great, very deep, and you've handled the star colours to perfection after the mix.

I was doubtful about the scope, I admit, but you are winning the argument and I'm delighted to say so.

Olly

[harry page]

Hi

Looks very nice

How did you add the Ha did you use pixinsight or photoshop which ever way the stars are nice

Harry

[Catanonia]

Hi

Looks very nice

How did you add the Ha did you use pixinsight or photoshop which ever way the stars are nice

Harry

Thanks guys getting there slowly.

Harry : I did the usual PI processing for LRGB but blended in the Ha into the Red channel at alignment and combination stage.

I took the LRGB and moved to CS5 to add some saturation and processed.

Then I worked on the Ha alone to combine it, DBE etc and a little PI processing.

I took this into CS5 and applied the Noels False Red to Ha tool to give me a Ha Red layer and added this gradually to the LRGB in lighten only mode to give the over all image.

A star layer was also used to protect the stars during stretching and brightness adjustments.

Olly : Thanks mate. The scope is a BIG learning curve and TBH a pain in the butt. I would not like to use this scope on the road, ONLY in an observatory as it does not hold it's collimation very well due to the GSO mirror support cell being, well pants !!!!

But with effort, it is most definately worth it for those with the patience and the ability to think logically to a solution.

[antimorris]

Very nice! The Ha adds some great detail and, as others have said, you have managed the star colors perfectly. Well done

[Catanonia]

Very nice! The Ha adds some great detail and, as others have said, you have managed the star colors perfectly. Well done

Thanks mate, I have re-discovered my method of star masking to protect them. I was trying to do it in Pixnsight, but my old trusted method of Noels Select bright stars, expand, inverse, feather and cut works for me.