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Double CLuster, regular and more exotic.

ollypenrice

By ollypenrice
in Imaging - Deep Sky

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I've wanted for some time to have a go at the DC with Ha background, yet another image first produced by Fabian Neyer, and I got to it with guests Dave and Darren over the last three nights of last week. With 3 nights spent on Ha in one of the Taks, the parallel one had more than enough data for the standard LRGB rendition. With over 2 hours per filter it would be hard to go wrong, but having more than enough data was nice. So in reagular guise, here's the binocular observer's favourite:

DOUBLE%20CLSTER%20LRGB%208Hrs-XL.jpg

In adding the Ha I didn't want to try to replicate Fabian's masterpiece so I kept the Ha down and gave more contrast to the cluster (or to put it another way I did my best with only 14 hours of Ha data in 30 min subs. :evil4::D) The processing took me into new territory. The brutality of the stretch needed to find the Ha at all meant that the stars became too big, even from the 3nm filter, and affected the star colour in the LRGB, even in Ps blend mode lighten. Some experimnting showed that I could deliberately white clip everything brighter than the brightest nebulosity by dragging the curve above it down to a horizontal line. Of course the Ha then looked horrible but the part I needed was healthy enough and in blend mode lighten it would only be that part that found its way into the image. So here we go. Click on the image and the big one can be had by using the button lower left.

DOUBLE%20CLUSTER%20HaLRGB%2021%20Hrs.jpg

By blending the two one can have any level of Ha in the final version so it's a matter of choice. More was available but I stopped at this point. Your opinions welcome!

Olly

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gnomus

gnomus

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I guess you could call this post the Double Double Cluster.  I have had the honour of seeing this close up.  The LRGB image is sensational in and of itself.  The addition of the Ha kicks everything up a notch.  I prefer this version to Mr Neyer's - something about the cluster itself.

Tremendous.

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swag72

swag72

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I love the star colours in the first one.... it just seems more sparkly than the Ha added version... The Ha seems to have given the stars an almost magenta hue to my eye. The Ha certainly adds something, and it's an interesting comparison to see the with and without.... Much like a Cocoon I did last year. As for which I prefer (not that it matters one jot!!!) I'd go for the first, without the Ha. 

However I am sure that the effort required to blend the stars and Ha successfully was bordering on the super human, so I feel a little mean for preferring the one without :)

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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2 hours ago, swag72 said:

I love the star colours in the first one.... it just seems more sparkly than the Ha added version... The Ha seems to have given the stars an almost magenta hue to my eye. The Ha certainly adds something, and it's an interesting comparison to see the with and without.... Much like a Cocoon I did last year. As for which I prefer (not that it matters one jot!!!) I'd go for the first, without the Ha. 

However I am sure that the effort required to blend the stars and Ha successfully was bordering on the super human, so I feel a little mean for preferring the one without :)

I know what you mean but the idea of the second one was that it was really an 'astronomical observation' rather than an attempt to make a more attractive picture. I just think it's interesting that remnants remain of the cloud which gave birth to the clusters, especially when we tend to think of this part of the sky as 'nebula free.' I guess this nebulosity goes all the way up to the Heart and Soul.

Any takers????

Olly

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ChrisLX200

ChrisLX200

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I appreciate the effort that went into this, and the image itself is a masterful rendition. I suppose it's the deep red colour that throws me (personally) because the background looks like a bad day with a DSLR where you forgot to use a Large Dither :) (IYSWIM). Looked at more closely there is obviously much detail in the background - wispy tendrils and clouds of gas - but on the larger scale it all merges into a reddish fuzz so perhaps the deep red colour is not the best hue for displaying it (?) I would try a more neutral colour for dusty background - but what do I know? There's little chance of capturing such faint stuff here!

ChrisH

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swag72

swag72

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36 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

I know what you mean but the idea of the second one was that it was really an 'astronomical observation' rather than an attempt to make a more attractive picture. I just think it's interesting that remnants remain of the cloud which gave birth to the clusters, especially when we tend to think of this part of the sky as 'nebula free.' I guess this nebulosity goes all the way up to the Heart and Soul.

As an astronomical observation alone then I think this opens up some serious interest.....as you say how far does this cloud extend? Is there faint Ha cloud all over but we just fail to pick it up? 

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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1 hour ago, swag72 said:

As an astronomical observation alone then I think this opens up some serious interest.....as you say how far does this cloud extend? Is there faint Ha cloud all over but we just fail to pick it up? 

Maybe not everywhere, but in this region there is a great deal, I'm sure.

 

1 hour ago, ChrisLX200 said:

I appreciate the effort that went into this, and the image itself is a masterful rendition. I suppose it's the deep red colour that throws me (personally) because the background looks like a bad day with a DSLR where you forgot to use a Large Dither :) (IYSWIM). Looked at more closely there is obviously much detail in the background - wispy tendrils and clouds of gas - but on the larger scale it all merges into a reddish fuzz so perhaps the deep red colour is not the best hue for displaying it (?) I would try a more neutral colour for dusty background - but what do I know? There's little chance of capturing such faint stuff here!

ChrisH

Thanks Chris. I've had similar opinions from the French forum so I'll have a look at the precise red used to show the Ha. It may also be my monitor.

Olly

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Barry-Wilson

Barry-Wilson

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6 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

I know what you mean but the idea of the second one was that it was really an 'astronomical observation' rather than an attempt to make a more attractive picture. I just think it's interesting that remnants remain of the cloud which gave birth to the clusters, especially when we tend to think of this part of the sky as 'nebula free.' I guess this nebulosity goes all the way up to the Heart and Soul.

Any takers????

Olly

You are on a productive exploratory mission Olly.  It's great to see an amateur pursuing art and astronomy.

Well done & congrats onn the AN article.

Beautiful image, making me wonder whether HaRGB is my favourite composition.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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On 02/11/2016 at 23:20, PatrickGilliland said:

Original version from a 'research and review perspective' wins for me, for an image the second. Did you just review the saturation for the background on the second version? I wondered if as bright but less red would work but not sure if that is what you tried?

Paddy

We had relentless clear skies, Paddy, so I had to move on and now can't remember!! As problems go, this is not a bad one to have...

Olly

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