Heart Nebula HA

[Rudeviewer]

This is my first data set for the heart nebula in HA. Processed it a bit in Pixinsight and finished it off in Photoshop with some pointers on sharpening. May have overdone it a tad bit but i am pretty pleased with the short amount of data the detail i have been able to coax out of it. I had planned on 5 hours of data but only got 2 hours 40 mins of 20 min subs thanks to incoming clouds. I'll take what i can get lately.

8x20 min subs with dark and bias calib files

 

[toxic]

very nice rudeviewer

 

[Rudeviewer]

Thank you!  I want to add more data and then at some point add some OIII and SII

[Rudeviewer]

I did some layer masking from an image that was less sharpened for the background and let the sharpened image come through onto that image.  Seems a bit more pleasing to the eye.

[PatrickGilliland]

Some great data there and processing is not far of the mark.  I would try to be a little more delicate with use of sharpening and noise reduction using some sort of selective masking.  Also not sure what programs in use but a little less contrast boosting will retain the finer detail.  Of course i appreciate limited data is the biggest obstacle but looking promising for next week.

Paddy 

[Rudeviewer]

Thanks for the advice Paddy!  I do tend to cook things just a bit trying to bring out the most detail i can.  I also have a few less contrasty versions that i started with.  Sometimes its hard to know when to stop.  I used pixinsight for the histograms transformation and then switched over to photoshop for a high pass filter and some noels actions.  

[Rudeviewer]

4 minutes ago, PatrickGilliland said:

Some great data there and processing is not far of the mark.  I would try to be a little more delicate with use of sharpening and noise reduction using some sort of selective masking.  Also not sure what programs in use but a little less contrast boosting will retain the finer detail.  Of course i appreciate limited data is the biggest obstacle but looking promising for next week.

Paddy 

Paddy, This is the first version that i did without sharpening or adding brightness or contrast or the high pass filter.  

[PatrickGilliland]

Prefer that straight away - i think the processing can be added but in a more selective manner need some masks (PS masks/PI range selection or clones) that really isolate the areas you want to work on.  Then just try 10-20% of what you did previously.  Better to (in most cases) run a few very fine adjustments than 1 fine-medium one.

I am certainly not one to speak but getting better slowly.  Take the approach you wish to enhance but not change the data.  If the eye spots a big change after a processing step rather than an enhancement then probably gone too far.

Paddy

[Rudeviewer]

Good sound advice.  Thank you for looking and for the positive comments!

[Rodd]

Paddy is right on the mark--you last image is the best for me--though I feel that the best spot would be some distance between the last one and the over processed one.  At some point a line is crossed.  Of course, with more data, you inch toward that line without having to do much of anything!  

[Rudeviewer]

That is a very good point about adding more data instead of trying to push the image too hard and making it unpleasing.  I will try to do this in my images from now on.  I guess always thought the soft look was not the way to go but i guess it seems it is the best way.  Not too overdone.  Thanks for the comment!

[Fay]

yes the last not so sharpened one is best for me too

 

fay