Which one do you like better?

[alan potts]

I like the second photo, it's just a better shot for me all round.

Alan.

[RikM]

I like diffraction spikes in general, especially on bright clusters like this but of these two images, the first (without spikes) is the better image.

[JamesF]

I don't like distraction spikes either. Another vote for the one without.

James

[ollypenrice]

Honest opinion? They are not both great images. The one on the left is an excellent image and the one on the right, comparatively, a poorer one. This has nothing to do with the spikes! The image on the left has been subtly stretched to bring out the faint gas and dust through which the cluster is travelling. Capturing this is very difficult. The faint reds are showing clearly and the colour balance is accurate and informative.

The image on the right has been badly clipped at both the black and the white points so that the faint details have been cropped out and discarded and the star colour has been lost from the other end, the bright end, of the picture. The sky is artificially black and the colour is out of balance (the blues look magenta due to a loss of green signal) and a lack of signal has made it noisy. Sorry to be so brutal but that's what I see when I look carefully at both.

Now, spikes. No thanks, not for me. They are artefacts of the telescope and I want the sky to speak for itself. At long focal lengths we are pretty much stuck with them because large clear aperture telescopes are rare and expensive. However, some like them. Actually what I really don't like about short focal length diff spiked images are the small square stars that don't quite make it to having full spikes.

Olly

[davew]

I prefer no spikes as a rule but if it's a Newt etc then they are merely a signature of the scope.

Are these images yours ? If they are then well done.

If they are not then a credit to the author(s) would be a good idea.

Dave.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'm a fan of diffraction spikes in images but with the 2 images above i prefer the one without the spikes.

[Hex]

Diffraction spikes are the work of the devil, horrible things, I won't even have astronomy pictures on my desk top with star spikes in them, slightly better than coma I suppose.

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[glowjet]

Both nice images, but images without diffraction spikes always win for me

John.

[sologuitarist61]

I prefer the colouring in the diffracton grating shot, but am not keen on the diffractions themselves as they make the image too fussy for me.

[Stevp]

In this case I'd say I like my stars spikey.

[OutThereSomewhere]

The first one is best for me. Plus I like the dust in that one too.

[stellawolf]

I prefer the first one

[Brian Nordstrom]

Yes , both great shots , but Diffraction for me as well , spikes add to the image .

Brian.

[Josh Wilson]

I prefer no spikes as a rule but if it's a Newt etc then they are merely a signature of the scope.

Are these images yours ? If they are then well done.

If they are not then a credit to the author(s) would be a good idea.

Dave.

No, those aren't my pics. And you're right, I should give them credit for such amazing works!

No diffraction pic, credit goes to: Antonio Fernandez-Sanchez

Diffraction pic, credit goes to: Fred Espenak. It's actually already there at the bottom right

[melsky]

Why add an optical defect to an image ?????

[8472]

No spikes for me, too. As mentioned it looks more natural, and I prefer realism.

[Velvet]

diffraction spikes for me, they make the image leap out at you

Velvet

[pajr777]

Spikes = pretty - if I was choosing for a wallpaper on my computer or a print to put on the wall I would choose that image.

No spikes = realistic. If I wanted to study or use as a reference, I would choose that image. Plus as others have said it has more detail.

[jgs001]

No spikes for me... but then, the images are very different anyway... If I get spikes naturally, that's fine, but adding them... nah not for me.

[brantuk]

I'm with Olly - the first is full of detail, nebulosity and colour bringing out a truer image of what's up there. The spikes are pretty but detract from the image a bit too much - and the detail in that one is all gone. I might use the first to impress an astronomy forum, and the second to impress an art gallery. But my personal preference is the none spikey one.

[pajr777]

I might use the first to impress an astronomy forum, and the second to impress an art gallery

Borrowing part of your post, I think that is a superb summary of my thoughts

[Hex]

I have to admit spikes look very nice on Christmas cards, although children's pictures are my favourite place to see them. I love Christmas.

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