The quest for Integrated Flux - Part 3

[Uranium235]

For now, this will be my final installment for this project. As always, it could use more data (as in twice as much!) as getting for a 100% noise-free IFN is a tough ask for anyone (especially in the UK) - but I feel as if I need to move on now to pastures new and perhaps drag the 8" out to the dark site for some galaxy smashing.

So, another 2.5(ish) hours added to take the total exposure up to just under 7 hours - which is a lot for f2.... if I were doing this at f5 or even f4 I'd be a long way short (doesnt even bear thinking about!)

The processing was as usual, a barrel of fun (not!) as I had to go back and do it about 8 times because of one thing or another (stars too big, not enough contrast etc) - but I eventually got to a happier place before my brain started to melt. I also took the opportunity to layer in the bodes I took with the 130pds a couple of years ago - that seemed to help with the spiral details in M81.

Some may or may not notice the differences to part 2, but its in the detail... less noise, slightly more contrast etc... a bit of a trainspotters version really

 

6hr 40min (a mix of 600 & 900s subs)

Samyang 135mm @f2, Atik 383L+, NEQ6

Thanks for looking!

 

[ChrisLX200]

It's good to see this! I was struggling with background noise with the Lum channel on the centre part of this area so I reprocessed to enhance the faint stuff. The structures I see are similar to those you show so it must be IFN - real rather than artifacts   Doesn't help with the colour channels though - adding those makes a right mess with this degree of stretch. So this is just my Lum channel to show those faint filaments are in the same place (relatively).

 

ChrisH

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, Uranium235 said:

For now, this will be my final installment for this project.

Thanks for looking!

And to think that I was waiting for the series to appear on Netflix.

Seriously though, great work. Thanks for sharing and inspiring

[Uranium235]

7 hours ago, ChrisLX200 said:

It's good to see this! I was struggling with background noise with the Lum channel on the centre part of this area so I reprocessed to enhance the faint stuff. The structures I see are similar to those you show so it must be IFN - real rather than artifacts   Doesn't help with the colour channels though - adding those makes a right mess with this degree of stretch. So this is just my Lum channel to show those faint filaments are in the same place (relatively).

ChrisH

Looking good so far mate   the bit you might struggle with (well I did) was to get some contrast into it, which is easier said than done becuase any local contrast actions tend to introduce noise. You just need to keep adding data to the point where it gives the action something to "grab hold" of. I also used a curve with a couple of anchored points  - one on the IFN, the other on  any available patch of darkness (of which there isnt much!) to give it another small kick.

[ChrisLX200]

The supprise to me was that, thanks to seeing your image, it might be real data rather than an artifact I needed to get rid of   This is not a dark site I image from (the main reason I stick to narrow band normally) so I would not have attempted to target such a faint wide-band feature on purpose. Just goes to show there are still new things to be captured from your average back yard though!

ChrisH

[Allinthehead]

That's fantastic. You must be pleased with that Samyang.

[Uranium235]

4 hours ago, ChrisLX200 said:

The supprise to me was that, thanks to seeing your image, it might be real data rather than an artifact I needed to get rid of   This is not a dark site I image from (the main reason I stick to narrow band normally) so I would not have attempted to target such a faint wide-band feature on purpose. Just goes to show there are still new things to be captured from your average back yard though!

ChrisH

Hats off to you for trying it at home Chris! Ive attempted it from my back yard over the years and never really made inroads to it, just a sniff of it if anything else.

However, watch this space because I've just been watching a video specifically for IFN processing.  It's a very long winded technique,  but it seems to work really well. I will have a go at it tonight when I've got a spare couple of hours to see if I can improve on my previous efforts. 

 

 

 

 

[Shibby]

Very nice indeed Rob - so much stuff that you don't normally see and very impressive given, as you say, the skies we have.

I finally got around to trying my own EOS adapter with the 50mm f1.8 - without too much success! Spent a lot of time de-dewing, making dew shields, tweaking focus, dodging cloud etc etc! I've learnt a few things for next time, anyway

[PatrickGilliland]

Well worth the effort - like a new skill, lots of area and lots of big stars :).  Looks like you have nailed it though.

Paddy

[Uranium235]

2 hours ago, Shibby said:

Very nice indeed Rob - so much stuff that you don't normally see and very impressive given, as you say, the skies we have.

I finally got around to trying my own EOS adapter with the 50mm f1.8 - without too much success! Spent a lot of time de-dewing, making dew shields, tweaking focus, dodging cloud etc etc! I've learnt a few things for next time, anyway

Thanks Lewis hope youve got your 50mm sorted now. I made a dew shield for my 50mm by cutting the bottom off a plastic flower pot so it has more of a conical shape, and therefore wont interefere with the wide angle. Im not sure if a dew strip will work with a 50mm since the front lens is a bit small (too much plastic in the way). If its the Canon f1.8 youre probably best running it at about f3.5 or 4 to help with the corner stars. But if youve a few hundred quid kicking about the Samyang 135 is definitely worth a look.

[Uranium235]

1 hour ago, PatrickGilliland said:

Well worth the effort - like a new skill, lots of area and lots of big stars :).  Looks like you have nailed it though.

Paddy

Thanks Paddy, I'll see if I can work on those stars a bit later on tonight - the tutorial I watched earlier really had them under control as the chap was using anchored curves for everything - and that was with DSLR data, so I should (in theory) be able to match, or better it. Its like a 2 hour video though, so its a lot to take in.... like you said, a completely new skill!   and maybe one I can carry forward when attempting other molecular clouds.

 

[Uranium235]

Right, I've just spent three hours studying the Scott Rosen method of processing IFN and I have to say.... Im pretty shocked. I feel like ive been well and truly taken to school:

My brain hurts now.... I need to go to bed

[laser_jock99]

Good effort- I'll have to look into that. Do you have a link to a tutorial?

[Uranium235]

24 minutes ago, laser_jock99 said:

Good effort- I'll have to look into that. Do you have a link to a tutorial?

There ya go

http://www.astronomersdoitinthedark.com/Bringing-Out-the-FaintStuff.php

 

[sulaco]

Fantastic image, thanks for sticking up that tutorial link too.

 

[Droogie 2001]

Great image. There is an article about Integrated Flux (Hershels Ghosts?) in this months Sky & Telescope. It mainly discusses observing but also mentions imaging, fascinating.
 

[Guest]

Really nice images, and specially due to they are in B&W.. Amazing !! 

and "Samyang 135mm" is really worth to be taken into the list of future investments..

 

Cheers

 

Martin 

[Guest]

And one more question, how is your spacing to come to optimal focus with ATIK 383L+SAMYANG 135 f2? could you give details ?

and no Filters used ??

 

Thank you

 

Martin

[Uranium235]

26 minutes ago, artem said:

And one more question, how is your spacing to come to optimal focus with ATIK 383L+SAMYANG 135 f2? could you give details ?

and no Filters used ??

 

Thank you

 

Martin

Im using the TS EOS to M48 adaptor to go from the lens to the CCD camera, but I had to modify it in order to get a 2" LP filter in there. With hindsight, it probably would have been better to go for the Geoptik adaptor instead because that has an integrated 2" filter thread. With a CCD you need to use a filter, I would have preferred to have just a UV/IR cut in there, but the CCD CLS is all I have in terms of a luminance filter.

With the use of either adaptor, you need to use spacers in order to get the correct lens to chip distance of 44mm, slightly less isn't so bad - but you must not exceed that distance (otherwise you wont get infinity focus).

[Uranium235]

Well, I had another go tonight - except with a couple of my own modifications to the technique to wring every last drop of IFN from the data... though that did bring out some noise, a data topup would be nice to help with that:

Amazing... just six months ago, something like this would have been unthinkable for me... I would have laughed at the very suggestion of tackling the IFN!