M101 Close In, Final Instalment

[tomato]

This is my final instalment on this target (at least in terms of data acquisition), 24.88 hrs total integration, calibrated and stacked in APP, processed in APP and GIMP. As I currently have lots of time on my hands, I will repeat the process using PI and StarTools. Quite a few faint background galaxies coming through which I'll try and identify.

Capture details:

Dual Esprit 150/ASI 178, Mesu 200 rig

L 366 x 120 secs

R 116 x 120 secs

G 123 x 120 secs

B 142 x 120 secs

Calibrated with Darks, Flats and Darks for Flats

Thanks for Looking

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by tomato
image duplicated

[NenoVento]

Truly amazing, bravo.

NV

[Xiga]

Incredible amount of detail on show, well done! 

Just one small point: it looks quite green on my phone. Maybe hit it with SCNR / HLVG and see if it helps? 

[tomato]

46 minutes ago, Xiga said:

Incredible amount of detail on show, well done! 

Just one small point: it looks quite green on my phone. Maybe hit it with SCNR / HLVG and see if it helps? 

Yes, the colour balance looked ok on my laptop, but not good on an iPad screen. More work needed!

[Laurin Dave]

Nice one Tomato...  maybe try these in Pixinsight on what you have so far …  SCNR (removes green), Dynamic Background Extraction with a point in each corner and also TGVCR in LAB mode but only on Chrominance and bring the black point in a bit

Dave

[carastro]

Excellent result.  This target is my Nemesis, and have yet to get a decent rendition of it.

Carole 

[geoflewis]

Wow, simply superb. Every time I see an image like this I tell myself that I must image it again as my versions are all rubbish, but I never seem to get around to it as there so many other targets out there that I've never visited......

I'd be delighted to get something even 25% as good as this version.....

[tomato]

Well, of course, it wasn't the final instalment, there never will be one with this game. I have recently purchased a Pixinsight license and have been using this M101 data, trying to achieve the more silvery tone in the spiral arms as discussed in the excellent recent M101 data thread started by   @Rodd.

There is more to come I'm sure, but at least I am starting to get to grips with the minimisation of  the background noise.

[Rodd]

32 minutes ago, tomato said:

I have recently purchased a Pixinsight license and have been using this M101 data, trying to achieve the more silvery tone in the spiral arms as discussed in the excellent recent M101 data thread started by   @Rodd.

Welcome to the rabbit hole Tomato!  Don't be afraid to experiment with the almost endless possible combination of settings and order of operations...Pixel Math is a very useful tool.  You'll find many excellent tutorials at Light Vortex Astronomy, noise suppression being one of them.  I am always amazed how the tiniest setting change can have huge impacts on the image.  II think your image is great, the colors perfect.  Your stars are just right--beautifully colored.  I wouldn't use any noise suppression on the galaxy portion--though a bit of targeted sharpening possibly.  I think the background would look much less noisy if you dropped the black point.  If you have LP or shoot when the Moon is out, you might find that it isn't so much noise as it is unwanted signal.  Doing this without loosing the faint extensions or making  the galaxy look like it has razor edges is tricky.