Cygnus Wall complex in colour with some mixed data

[swag72]

I recently completed a 4 pane mosaic of the Cygnus Wall complex with the ODK10 in Ha. It was a bit of a slog really and I wasn't looking forward to collecting the OIII data to make a bi colour image. Then I remembered........... I had some OIII data from a 4 pane mosaic I did of the NAN a couple of years ago. This data was taken with the Takahashi FSQ85 and the now defunct QSI690 and as you can see the Cygnus Wall complex is pretty small in there! 

I had a think and knew that I only wanted the OIII for the colour and so decided to crop it in and resize it to match the Ha data I had from the ODK10 (Thanks to Registar!). I liked the fact that I didn't have to capture 4 panes of OIII this year to match the Ha as I've got something else I want to do instead now!

I welcome all thoughts and comments on this - Has it worked ?

Details
M: Mesu 200 / Avalon Linear Fast Reverse
T: ODK10 / Takahashi FSQ85 x0.73
C: QSI683 / QSI690 with 3nm Ha and OIII Astrodon filters

72x1800s in Ha (36hrs)
16x1800s in OIII (8hrs)
Total of 44 hours. The reason that I think that 8 hours of OIII can kind of match the 36 hrs of Ha data is that the OII us taken at f3.9 and the Ha at f6.8

You can see a larger version on my website here

[johnrt]

22 minutes ago, swag72 said:

Has it worked ?

Yes!

This is an often imaged object, and lots of times this is a little boring as it's done so often, but like all your images there's a little bit more of everything to hold your eye and make you appreciate the object afresh! Splendid!

[steppenwolf]

Yup, I reckon it worked just fine!

[Astroboy239]

Marvelous, brilliant image Sara, how did you join 2 different ccd images qsi 683 and 690?

Varad 

[johnfosteruk]

Love the colour palette Sara, that's a fabulous image.

[Barry-Wilson]

Nothing boring here Sara.  I really like the rich and deep brown and orange hues, sharp detail across the frame and well processed considering the combination of data.

Yes, it has worked .  You have had to sacrifice the proportions of the axes on the Kodak ccd compared to the much squarer Sony ccd however this hasn't detracted from the image.  If you hadn't said anything I wonder how long it would ahve taken before anyone twigged?

[swag72]

Thanks guys for all of your comments. I'm glad that you like it.. this has sat on my hard drive for some time as I've agonised over it.

@Astroboy239 - I use a programme called Registar to align both sets of data.

@Barry-Wilson - The image hasn't been cropped at all, just to take off the mosaic edges. The OIII was cropped massively and then matched to the much larger Ha mosaic. As it was only the colour data I wanted I knew that it wouldn't show at all that the resolution was utterly pants

[tony210]

Very dramatic image!- best wishes Tony

[Gina]

I have just one thing to say...  WOW!!

[laudropb]

Very nice image Sara. Lots of detail to ponder over.

[gnomus]

It's looking stunning.  If you hadn't told, I wouldn't have known about the difference in resolution.

[swag72]

Thanks guys for looking and commenting.

@gnomus - As I only use the OIII data as an underlying colour 'wash' so to speak, the resolution is no problem at all. The Ha over the top as a luminance layer will bring it all back together again

[ollypenrice]

Seamless. Worked a treat. It's a flawless image.

Olly

[ChrisLX200]

I think it looks great!   Love the filamentary texture of the darker clouds which really stand out in this image.

ChrisH

[Maximidius]

Well that was a hell of an idea. The FOV between the originals and final resolution must have been vastly different, but you worked your mojo and hey presto. Flawless Victory!!!!

 I hope this isn't too much of an ask, but what is your processing workflow for an image like this? 

[Thalestris24]

Awesome and inspiring as always, Sara!

Louise

[swag72]

Thanks all for your comments - I'm heartened to think that this has worked

@Maximidius - The workflow is very simple.... Channels are merged as HOO and then the colour select tool is used to get the right colours. The Ha is used as a luminance channel to bring back the detail and that's that

[jabeoo1]

Thats great, it looks like a masterwork painting. 

[ollypenrice]

2 hours ago, swag72 said:

Thanks all for your comments - I'm heartened to think that this has worked

@Maximidius - The workflow is very simple.... Channels are merged as HOO and then the colour select tool is used to get the right colours. The Ha is used as a luminance channel to bring back the detail and that's that

One thing we all learn in this game is that, singing  , 'It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it....'

Olly

[opticalpath]

That worked beautifully, Sara .... great result! 

You described the workflow as 'simple'.  I think maybe what you mean is that you've mastered it and now it seems straightforward to you;  the rest of us just wonder at it!

Adrian

[swag72]

Thanks for your comments ... of course these sorts of images and colours are not everyone's cup of tea......

I guess that you are probably right Adrian...... I don't find it a simple process when doing it, there's a lot of fine tuning, but I just want people to know that there's no magic to it and it's a simple processing way... if that makes sense.

[PatrickGilliland]

Yep that has worked - love the fine and dark details and the feeling of direction the central swathe provides.  Now you know the process has worked you can consider the same approach with some other old data too?  Detail from HA and colour from existing data sets.

Lots of options - i tested running lum on 10" RC and RGB through 5" refractor which worked well and allowed me to grab data at same time - just a variation on HA mosaics coloured by your ample supply of great 'colour' data to have to hand.  

Well done though i like this one lots - Paddy

 

[swag72]

Thanks Paddy for your comment - Not sure that I have any other data that is screaming out to be blended with some long focal length Ha! Maybe next year

[sharkmelley]

Fantastic image!

Congratulations on the APOD:  https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161011.html

Very well deserved.

Mark

 

[wimvb]

Congratulations