M16 with barebones data

[Xiga]

I've always wanted to capture this. Trouble is, it's a bit too low down for me really. Plus it's a summer target, and the only time it's visible between the nearby rooftops is when there is no Astro Dark up here at 54 deg N. And i don't really have the focal length to do it justice either, but nothing ventured nothing gained, so last month i made the effort to travel home and set up, in the hope of a few spells of clear sky. 

This was actually a first light for my (new to me) Qhy163c. I had a window of about 90 mins of Astronomical Twilight and no moon about, but as it turned out i wasted all of that faffing around getting plate-solving to work. Eventually i realised that my initial focus position (marked on the drawtube, and which works every time with my D5300) was slightly off for the Qhy, and it was enough to cause the plate-solving to fail. So by the time i was able to finally start capturing, i was well into Nautical Twilight. In the end i only managed 12 subs of Ha before i had to pack up as it was just way too bright. There was also some high cloud about, and together with the sky brightness it meant that the subs are really only fit for the bin, but this is all the data i have so i'm using them all! lol. The following night, i tried again, but the weather didn't play along at all, and i only managed 4 Oiii cloud-affected subs that night before i gave up. 

So in total this is just 80 mins, made up of 12 x 300s of Ha and 4 x 300s of Oiii. Every one of terrible quality, but APP managed to at least give me something to work with, before moving into PS for all the heavy-lifting. 

80ED, HEQ5-Pro, QHY163c. Image downscaled to 50% to the surprise of no-one! lol

Only time will tell if a 12bit camera is right for me in the long term. It's recommended you get at least 60+ subs with these cameras. I'm already having serious doubts that i'll ever manage that amount on any target 😂

M16 is gone from view now for me, so i'm just glad to at least have something to show for it, and i can tick M16 off the list for the time being. 

C&C welcome, and clear skies!

[alan potts]

I think that is very nice indeed, and show me at least the differences in approach and the end result, I have just captured about 3 half hours on this over a few night because of trees. Mine done with a modded canon from years back and very red compared to yours, I will post it up in the next day or so.

Alan

[Starwiz]

Wonderful result and I can see the pillars in there. 

It's low down for me even in Malta

You should be proud of this image.

John

[tooth_dr]

Great job Ciaran. Funny enough I tried this one last summer, and my result was similar. It’s just so low here. 

[geoflewis]

That's an excellent image Ciarán for 54N. It was (is) on my list for this summer. As the planets are too low for me to waste time on them night after night, this year I wanted to allocate time to summer DSOs this year, but my 92 year old mum's health took a downturn during the last couple of months with her passing 24 July, so this summer turned into several 300 mile round trips to be with her rather than hours at the telescope - the sky will always be there, but my mum won't be 😢. Now of course the Moon is interfering, but I may give it a try (skies permitting) in late August / early Sept, though likely I won't get much time on it as it will already be well past the meridian by the time we get into even astro darkness.

Cheers, Geof

 

[Xiga]

On 07/08/2019 at 05:05, alan potts said:

I think that is very nice indeed, and show me at least the differences in approach and the end result, I have just captured about 3 half hours on this over a few night because of trees. Mine done with a modded canon from years back and very red compared to yours, I will post it up in the next day or so.

Alan

Thanks Alan. I went for a Bi-Colour Ha-Oiii approach, was yours an Ha-RGB per chance? The different methods of capture and processing can yield to totally different looking images. I personally love that about AP. 🙂

On 08/08/2019 at 19:24, Starwiz said:

Wonderful result and I can see the pillars in there. 

It's low down for me even in Malta

You should be proud of this image.

John

Thanks John. It's a funny one - it's such an iconic object, so i AM happy that i ended up with an actual image (of sorts), but then the perfectionist in me really hates the low quality & quantity of data i had to work with. So the way i see it, this is just v1. Hopefully i'll have many years ahead of me to try and get some better data (and equipment!) and really do it justice. 

On 08/08/2019 at 19:33, tooth_dr said:

Great job Ciaran. Funny enough I tried this one last summer, and my result was similar. It’s just so low here. 

Totally agree. Adam, it's a tough one for us for sure. And the fact it's a summer target, with no astro dark, only makes it harder. Funnily enough, it was seeing your version last year that actually gave me the courage to even have a go. So thanks for the inspiration! 🙏 

On 10/08/2019 at 11:56, geoflewis said:

That's an excellent image Ciarán for 54N. It was (is) on my list for this summer. As the planets are too low for me to waste time on them night after night, this year I wanted to allocate time to summer DSOs this year, but my 92 year old mum's health took a downturn during the last couple of months with her passing 24 July, so this summer turned into several 300 mile round trips to be with her rather than hours at the telescope - the sky will always be there, but my mum won't be 😢. Now of course the Moon is interfering, but I may give it a try (skies permitting) in late August / early Sept, though likely I won't get much time on it as it will already be well past the meridian by the time we get into even astro darkness.

Cheers, Geof

 

Thanks Geof, and sorry for not responding sooner. Summer is a busy time for me, so I've been caught in a 'work-eat-sleep' black hole of late, which hasn't left much time for anything else recently. Really sorry to hear about your Mum 😥 . I have yet to go through the pain of this myself, so i can't offer much of worth i'm afraid, but what i can say is that 92 is a serous innings! Even as a (relatively) young man of 41, i would take that right now if i could. 

Hope you have some luck on M16 and i look forward to seeing your future work. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Xiga

[geoflewis]

7 hours ago, Xiga said:

Thanks Geof, and sorry for not responding sooner. Summer is a busy time for me, so I've been caught in a 'work-eat-sleep' black hole of late, which hasn't left much time for anything else recently. Really sorry to hear about your Mum 😥 . I have yet to go through the pain of this myself, so i can't offer much of worth i'm afraid, but what i can say is that 92 is a serous innings! Even as a (relatively) young man of 41, i would take that right now if i could. 

Hope you have some luck on M16 and i look forward to seeing your future work. 

Thanks Ciarán, the funeral was yesterday a mix of happy memories of a long life well lived and the sadness of a final goodbye. We got back home last night to a clear sky, but I was way too tired and too soon for me to open the observatory. Lots of other things to do the next few days to get back to normal after a week away, plus we are having a new bathroom fitted w/c 2 Sept, so as they say, life goes on....

Geof

[kirkster501]

A fantastic M16.  You should be proud of this Ciaran.  We sometimes have to acknowledge that some objects it is not meant to be in terms of getting enough data.

@geoflewisvery sorry to hear of your loss. Hang in there.

[carastro]

That has worked out really well and worth the effort.  Well done.  

So sorry to hear you news Geoff, been through the same 2 1/2 years ago.

Carole 

[geoflewis]

20 hours ago, carastro said:

So sorry to hear you news Geoff, been through the same 2 1/2 years ago.

Thanks Carole, I look forward to catching up with you again a few weeks from now, at Kelling Heath. Geof

[geoflewis]

21 hours ago, kirkster501 said:

@geoflewisvery sorry to hear of your loss. Hang in there.

Thanks Steve. Geof

[geoflewis]

On 20/08/2019 at 01:00, Xiga said:

Thanks Alan. I went for a Bi-Colour Ha-Oiii approach, was yours an Ha-RGB per chance? The different methods of capture and processing can yield to totally different looking images. I personally love that about AP. 🙂

Thanks John. It's a funny one - it's such an iconic object, so i AM happy that i ended up with an actual image (of sorts), but then the perfectionist in me really hates the low quality & quantity of data i had to work with. So the way i see it, this is just v1. Hopefully i'll have many years ahead of me to try and get some better data (and equipment!) and really do it justice. 

Totally agree. Adam, it's a tough one for us for sure. And the fact it's a summer target, with no astro dark, only makes it harder. Funnily enough, it was seeing your version last year that actually gave me the courage to even have a go. So thanks for the inspiration! 🙏 

Thanks Geof, and sorry for not responding sooner. Summer is a busy time for me, so I've been caught in a 'work-eat-sleep' black hole of late, which hasn't left much time for anything else recently. Really sorry to hear about your Mum 😥 . I have yet to go through the pain of this myself, so i can't offer much of worth i'm afraid, but what i can say is that 92 is a serous innings! Even as a (relatively) young man of 41, i would take that right now if i could. 

Hope you have some luck on M16 and i look forward to seeing your future work. 

Hi Ciarán,

As discussed a couple of weeks ago, I did have a go at M16 and have just posted it, so here is a link to my version.

Cheers, Geof