NGC 2264 The Cone Nebula and Surroundings in HaLRGB

[eshy76]

Hi everyone,

The Cone Nebula lies about 2700 light years from Earth and, along with the Christmas Tree Cluster, forms NGC 2264. This object lies within the Monoceros constellation and is about 7 light years long. Also visible in my image close to the Cone is the Fox Fur Nebula.

A notable image for me in that I tried a new processing technique for merging my Ha data with RGB and L. I used the excellent Light Vortex tutorial on this and this method makes it much easier to bring in the Ha, without unbalancing the star colour too much I hope, compared to some of my recent images.

Used my usual setup - WO Z73 + iOptron CEM25P + ZWO ASI 1600 MM Pro + Astrodon filters. Total integration time 5.2 hours.

Full details here

Thanks for looking!


 

[rubecula]

Mmmmm ....nice.  I like the detail and the overall composition.  Amazing detail from 5 different filters at 1 hour per filter.

Edited December 9, 2019 by rubecula
afterthought

[eshy76]

57 minutes ago, rubecula said:

Mmmmm ....nice.  I like the detail and the overall composition.  Amazing detail from 5 different filters at 1 hour per filter.

Thank you! My imaging time is being severely limited by the cloudy winter...but the show must go on!

[assouptro]

36 minutes ago, eshy76 said:

Thank you! My imaging time is being severely limited by the cloudy winter...but the show must go on!

It has been pretty miserable so far this winter. 
I don’t have an observatory but my kit is outside under a telegizmos 365 cover so I can set up in minutes and take advantage of a clear spell I have a neighbour who caught the bug from me, he has to set up from scratch each session and won’t do so unless it’s going to stay clear all night! 

nice composition BTW, thanks for sharing! 

cheers 

Bryan

[eshy76]

39 minutes ago, assouptro said:

It has been pretty miserable so far this winter. 
I don’t have an observatory but my kit is outside under a telegizmos 365 cover so I can set up in minutes and take advantage of a clear spell I have a neighbour who caught the bug from me, he has to set up from scratch each session and won’t do so unless it’s going to stay clear all night! 

nice composition BTW, thanks for sharing! 

cheers 

Bryan

Thank you! Exactly like you - my kit has been under a Telegizmo cover for the last week...looks clear tonight for a few hours, just hope I don't find that spiders have made a home in my ASI1600 when I take the covers off later! 

[assouptro]

3 hours ago, eshy76 said:

Thank you! Exactly like you - my kit has been under a Telegizmo cover for the last week...looks clear tonight for a few hours, just hope I don't find that spiders have made a home in my ASI1600 when I take the covers off later! 

Just thought I’d mention, I keep a small dehumidifier under the cover too and as it’s on a home made pier instead of a tripod I am able to create a reasonable seal around the bottom, It has made a difference to things decaying with rust or misting up etc, it was a £40 eBay purchase. 
I am hoping to get home early enough to continue gathering data on my latest project, I’m trying to do my first mosaic, just a 2 panel of the soul nebula. 
cheers 

Bryan 
 

[eshy76]

56 minutes ago, assouptro said:

Just thought I’d mention, I keep a small dehumidifier under the cover too and as it’s on a home made pier instead of a tripod I am able to create a reasonable seal around the bottom, It has made a difference to things decaying with rust or misting up etc, it was a £40 eBay purchase. 
I am hoping to get home early enough to continue gathering data on my latest project, I’m trying to do my first mosaic, just a 2 panel of the soul nebula. 
cheers 

Bryan 
 

Thank you for this - I also bought a relatively cheap (as far as this hobby goes!) dehumidifier which I stick on the tripod spreader before covering...I probably don't have a good seal as you, but I did also get the Telegizmo tripod cover (definitely not cheap!) so hopefully it should all be fine!

I also want to get home in time to get some hours in on a 2-panel Jellyfish nebula mosaic - good luck with yours!