NGC 1333 - An Interstellar Dust Cloud

[iksose7]

Finally settled with a version of this image. I've had the data for a couple months, and have been processing/staring at it since xmas and after three or four attempts i decided to be done with it!

I'm not totally satisfied with the result, its definitely the most challenging object i have attempted and the ridiculous about of noise in the image was a pain to deal with, one of the reasons i cant wait to be able to afford a CCD! This is my second image processed with PI since obtaining my license, and i've certainly learned a few things that i will be carrying over to my next image which am about to get stuck into processing tonight.

Exposure Details:

113* 600 secs, ISO 800, f7

Total Exposure: 18.8 hours

Scope: Altair Astro 115EDT

Camera: Canon 600Da

Mount: NEQ6

[lensman57]

I think this is superb. Well done.

A.G

PS: I don't know if you have already done this or not but you can gently lift the dark dust by using a very accurate  mask with a good measure of feather ( convolution to soften the mask )  to protect the stars and the very bright areas and then using the Exponential Transformation to lift the dark dust out of the back ground. You have a lot of data there so it give it a try.

[VikN46]

Wonderful image!

[tingting44]

so much going on in this image! very nice indeed!

[jeremile]

Hello,

Beautiful colors and lots of details.

Well done.

Jérémy

[PatrickGilliland]

Hello there,

As I have said elsewhere this is a cracking DSLR shot and like the dust detail.

Very impressive work.

Paddy

[Starflyer]

An absolutely cracking image of an extremely difficult target!

It's been on my to-do list for several years now, I was too worried about the integration time needed with a DSLR that I never attempted it, kudos to you.

[Lars]

Great image and you really managed to pick out a lot of dust there.

/Lars

[StuartJPP]

This has been on my list for ages...looking at the weather it will be on the list a while longer. Nice work Callum!

[iksose7]

Thanks all for looking!

PS: I don't know if you have already done this or not but you can gently lift the dark dust by using a very accurate  mask with a good measure of feather ( convolution to soften the mask )  to protect the stars and the very bright areas and then using the Exponential Transformation to lift the dark dust out of the back ground. You have a lot of data there so it give it a try.

Cheers AG, i will give that a go as i have never played with ET. Though it may be a while, i am sick of the sight of this data!

Callum

[swag72]

I love this target and you have done it proud A super image, well done!

[tollytastic1]

Love this image, very dramatic and so enjoyable to look at. One to go on the wall ! Well done!!

[Ewan]

Beautiful shot.

[iksose7]

Thank you Sara, Tolly and Ewan. I look forward to trying more of these dusty targets. I may be about to get my hands on a CCD which will help very much so if i do!

Callum

[Barry-Wilson]

Very well processed and beautiful image, especially if it's only your second outing with PI.

Barry

[carastro]

I didn't even realise this was a DSLR image until I read through the text, looks like an image produced by a CCD camera.  Great work, I don;t know the object, but looks excellent to me.

Carole 

[iksose7]

Thanks Carole and Barry, PI is much easier to use than people think, so long as you do a bit of reading before hand. Most reject it as they go in expecting Photoshop which it certainly is not, i did a solid day of reading and taking notes to make sure i had a good idea what did what and why before i got stuck in.

Callum

[Steve 1962]

That's a beautiful image of a very difficult object - I think you've done a great job.

Steve

[tony210]

Very attractive result - best wishes Tony

[Rudeviewer]

Wow, this target is tough.  This image inspired me to try.....try.  I failed though, very very awesome image!

[gingergeek]

Marvelous ! An image to be proud of.

[iksose7]

Cheers folks!

Rudeviewer you are off to a good start!

[ollypenrice]

As hard as it gets, this one. Stunning result.

I would maybe consider warming up the palette a little. It strikes me as just a tad cold and this may be costing you the strange ochre yellows sometimes found in 1333.

But, wow, a DSLR 1333 doesn't come along every day and look at that dust!

Olly

[iksose7]

Thanks Olly, in one of my previous versions i did have nice rusty colored dust clouds but decided against it as the histogram was not lined up. And any saturation attempts only revealed more noise. I dont think i will be reprocessing this one for a while, dont want to go through that again any time soon! I have a CCD on the way now which will help with noise and i will be imaging more of these dusty targets in the future. I think i may ignore the histogram to a certain extent in the future, going for what looks better rather than what the histogram tells me is correct.

Callum

[ollypenrice]

Thanks Olly, in one of my previous versions i did have nice rusty colored dust clouds but decided against it as the histogram was not lined up. And any saturation attempts only revealed more noise. I dont think i will be reprocessing this one for a while, dont want to go through that again any time soon! I have a CCD on the way now which will help with noise and i will be imaging more of these dusty targets in the future. I think i may ignore the histogram to a certain extent in the future, going for what looks better rather than what the histogram tells me is correct.

Callum

As Dennis once said, 'It isn't the histogram you hang on the wall...' Not a bad point, that.

Enjoy the transition to CCD.

Olly