M81 & M82 Re-Process: 90mins RGB, 140mins Ha

[Xiga]

Hey guys

Having been inspired by everyone else's fine images of M81 & M82 recently, i decided to go back and re-process my shallow stack of the same objects. I shot this back in early Feb, and at the time only decided to swing the wee 80mm scope around to it after my main target for the night (the Rosette Nebula) had disappeared behind the neighbour's house, so i wasn't able to go deep on it. I haven't bothered to return to it since, but i was never fully satisfied with the processing on it (even though it can obviously only be taken so far, given the short FL and exposure) so i decided to have another go (plus the weather's been crap recently!).

I'm much happier with the star colours and background now (at least to my eye) and i seem to have eeked out a bit more detail in the galaxies themselves, especially in the jets of M82, where i was able to stretch the Ha data a lot more before blending together a mix of it and the Red channel from the RGB data. Although in hindsight i may have gone too far with the sharpening in M82. Be interested to hear what you guys think.

If i was going to add more data to this, i would definitely prioritise the RGB over the Ha (i think i need a much bigger scope to properly shoot Ha on this). Oh yes, and try to remember to shoot at ISO 200 next time, and not 800! lol. 

Here's the new version:

And here's the original:

And finally, here's a crop of the new version, just to display the galaxies a bit bigger:

[tooth_dr]

Looks great Ciaran. Amazing what can be done with an 80mm scope. 

[EyeGuy]

That’s a very nice job Ciaran. There’s much more detail in the new processing, and I much prefer the softer appearance. I can’t believe that was through an 80mm! Well worth going back to the data on this one. It makes for a handsome image.

Barry

[Xiga]

7 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Looks great Ciaran. Amazing what can be done with an 80mm scope. 

 

6 hours ago, EyeGuy said:

That’s a very nice job Ciaran. There’s much more detail in the new processing, and I much prefer the softer appearance. I can’t believe that was through an 80mm! Well worth going back to the data on this one. It makes for a handsome image.

Barry

Thanks guys!

Barry, the D5300 doesn't have an antialiasing filter, which is a little unusual for a DSLR. And from what I've read, this apparently is a bonus for astro work, as it means slightly sharper images. It really is a great wee camera.

[EyeGuy]

6 hours ago, Xiga said:

 

Thanks guys!

Barry, the D5300 doesn't have an antialiasing filter, which is a little unusual for a DSLR. And from what I've read, this apparently is a bonus for astro work, as it means slightly sharper images. It really is a great wee camera.

That’s interesting Ciarán. I wonder if it’s worth my going for a modded DSLR. They’re just so convenient when compared with CCDs, especially away from the house. More gear! It never ends. 

Barry

[Xiga]

4 hours ago, EyeGuy said:

That’s interesting Ciarán. I wonder if it’s worth my going for a modded DSLR. They’re just so convenient when compared with CCDs, especially away from the house. More gear! It never ends. 

Barry

I'll happily swap you my modded D5300 for your 16200 Barry

In all seriousness though, a modded DSLR is indeed very useful, most notably for portability. Although with your current repertoire of gear I wouldn't say you are in any great need of one.

[EyeGuy]

17 hours ago, Xiga said:

I'll happily swap you my modded D5300 for your 16200 Barry

In all seriousness though, a modded DSLR is indeed very useful, most notably for portability. Although with your current repertoire of gear I wouldn't say you are in any great need of one.

Nice try