M51 Processing Attempt (open data available)

[NigeB]

Hi All,

After a hiatus due to other commitments, I've managed to get back in the observatory. Late last month I upgraded the computer, which was starting to creak somewhat, and I spent an evening swapping out machines and sorting out software configurations. I'd forgotten how many things have to be configured and all the bits that can cause a session to grind to a halt... At the end of the evening I used M51 as a test to make sure Voyager control was working properly. I didn't take much notice of camera orientation - it was simply meant to be a test run, but we then had a sequence of good nights and I just kept going, so the data set was pretty good at the end.

I've had some great advice from SGL members about processing technique in the past - see e.g. my Whale post here and all the brilliant responses. For anyone trying to understand Pixinsight processes, there's a lot of useful information in the thread and it helped me enormously.

For this M51 data set I tried to delve a little deeper into the process and understand a few more of the processing options and settings in PixInsight, including combining Ha with LRGB, and some more mask-based work.

The result is below. I know I have a tracking issue that needs to be adjusted out, and I think there's a softness here which isn't so evident in the raw files, so I have probably over-cooked some of the processing and mask protection. I'm going to have another go, but I think after 2 days of being absorbed in tutorials and Pixinsight sessions, I'm probably pushing my luck with my family and need to go and plumb in the dishwasher, which will no doubt take a week to sort.

So here's the result of the last few evenings of mis-spent time...

 

Comments and suggestions welcome! If anyone wants to try processing the data, I've put the calibrated and stacked files on Dropbox here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uzhrwsuyaupsfsn/M51_Stacked_And_Aligned.zip?dl=0

 

Nigel

 

[MarkAR]

Lovely image, time well spent.

I don't think many people will get a much better result.

[dannybgoode]

Thank you for sharing the data, very kind of you - I have been trying to get as much out of my M51 data but I don't have nearly as much.  I doubt I'll get anywhere close to yours but at least it gives me something to work with.