NGC 281 (wakka wakka)

[Shibby]

I was pleasantly surprised with how this one turned out. Over the last couple of clear nights, I've been gathering some Ha data of Mr PacMan to combine with old colour data.

The difference is, the colour was taken with an old, UNmodded Nikon D70 that I used to use for my astrophotography. The fact it is unmodded means that all the nice blues have come through without being overborn by the abundant, red emission nebulosity. So when combined with Ha as luminance the effect is quite pleasing I think

A few little niggles remaining; slightly wonky star shapes in the Ha layer due to some guiding issues on the first night... Also, a little nibble gets taken out of my stars - not by Mr Pacman, but by unavoidable focuser protrusion!

Ha: 32x600s ISO800, modded Canon 450d + Baader 7nm

Colour: 53x120s ISO800 + darks, unmodded Nikon D70

Total integration time: 7.1hrs

Scope: SW 150PDS

Mount: Vixen GP

Would you believe it, clear forecast again tonight, but don't think I can take another all-nighter!

Thanks for looking. Any and all feedback is most welcome.

Ha/Colour

Ha

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice! I have yet to spot this one visually.

[Gina]

Yes, very nice

[ollypenrice]

Let me put the case against Ha as luminance: it turns red into pink and throws up blue haloes around hot stars. Personally I think you'd get an even better result by applying Ha to the red channel in Blend Mode Lighten.

That said, I'm enjoying your picture...

Olly

[Shibby]

Thanks for the feedback! It's one of the great reasons to post images here on SGL

I have tried that method before Olly, but have always failed to get respectable results. I think the trouble is that my colour data is always rather poor quality (certainly in this case, anyway). I usually find that using Ha as luminance actually reduces the halos significantly, but the pinkish nebulosity certainly is a problem...

Here it is again with Ha added with blend mode lighten; no luminance layer:

Ignoring the dodgy stars for a moment, to me the image is very lacking in detail. The reds do look a lot better, though. The blues from the colour layer all but vanished until I boosted the curves at the upper end of the colour layer, which brought them back a bit.

Perhaps a sort of compromise between the two? Here, I have done as above but then added an Ha luminance layer with opacity of 85% What do you think, has it gone too pink again?

[Anweniel]

Hard to choose between them, maybe the B&W wins out for me in terms of detail without the distraction of a colour interpretation.

The first colour image perhaps a preference as the subject i.e Mr Pacman lloks the best of all the colour ones in terms of detail and 'naturalness' of the hue. However the background doesn't look quite right to me with the second colour picture looking much better in this respect ( to my eye) - despite the haloing. The third perhaps a good compromise between the two. But who wants compromise, to me the subject is most important. For all I would mind the background and stars could be purple as long as the nebula looks good thats the main thing to me - hence your first try is my favourite.

Isn't it almost always a question of taste though

[Gina]

The last image looks best to me - very nice indeed

[kruska]

extra!

[Andyfx]

Very nice!

[Uranium235]

Very nice Lewis, though I prefer your first attempt because of its lower background level and its more subtle. Your Ha turned out really well too, 32x600 is a lot of data to play with

Maybe you should try to merge the Ha layer with a monoised version of your RGB, then change the opacity until it has an effect on the contrast and background level. Flatten it, tweak it, then layer in your RGB as usual.

[Chris]

Great stuff, all the versions look good to me but I like the last version the best:)

[Raga]

I know I'm just a noob and haven't even purchased my scope and mount yet however in my opinion I prefer the first pic visually. For what it's worth lol.

[Raga]

However the last one looks awesome too

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

I know I'm just a noob and haven't even purchased my scope and mount yet however in my opinion I prefer the first pic visually. For what it's worth lol.

Me too, but then, i'm not an imager either. Perhaps its too easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of these things (star shapes, halos etc), rather than looking at the overall picture through a novices eyes.

Quite often i see people saying "i'm not to happy with this, stars are slightly egg shaped, guiding was off", when to me, they look like pinpricks unless i zoom in 800%... And had they said nothing, i wouldn't have even zoomed in that far!

Knowledge is a burden i guess...

They're all great images. I prefer the first one, overall it's much more pleasing to the eye, even if the others are technically superior.

[Austin]

great pacman

[wookie1965]

Very nice images.

[NGEddie]

Great images, well done