Fireworks Galaxy

[Rodd]

I have been trying to collect data for this image for over a month.  Now the Moon is up again, and I will have to wait at least 2-3 weeks before I can collect luminance.  Therefore, I have decided to post this HaRGB image as the real end to galaxy season for me.   I was surprised to find that my favorite part of this image is not the Fireworks Galaxy---but the cluster in the upper right hand corner.  I am not a big open cluster guy, probably because my stars are never very good from a color standpoint. But in this case, that is not the case.  I have included a crop of the cluster and am amazed by the group of grapes near the core.  My question is how close are these stars to each other in this assemblage of 8 or 9 stars?  They seem extraordinarily close.  Is this an illusion?  My focus/guiding/seeing could be poor and there really should be considerable space between these few stars.  they should be points after all.  Anyway--I find this little cluster of jewels to be very interesting.  The other question I have is should I  be patient and wait to collect luminance (5-8 hours is my goal).  Not sure how much it will improve things and I have a feeling it will degrade the star color (and maybe profile too if seeing is not that good).  As an aside....I have decided to tone down the intervening dust and gas that permeates this region of teh galaxy....my sky is not great and dealing with the noise resulted in having to live with a darker image than typical I think.  Maybe with a lot more data this could be different.

TOA 130 with ASI 1600

R: 34 300 sec

G: 34 300 sec

B: 40 300 sec

Ha: 28 300 sec

 

Cluster

 

 

 

[MarkAR]

Looks great to me, some luminance will make it even better.

[Rodd]

2 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Looks great to me, some luminance will make it even better.

Thanks Mark--not sure I have the patience.  I am set to switch scopes...this was my last image.  If I wait for the Moon to go away I will start a narrowband image meanwhile, and then no telling when I will be able to switch.  

[Ibbo!]

47 minutes ago, Rodd said:

  I am set to switch scopes...this was my last image.  If I wait for the Moon to go away I will start a narrowband image meanwhile, and then no telling when I will be able to switch.  

Vey nice .

I am in exactly the same boat as you with this object and I am wondering if I should delay the change of scopes.

So far I have only stacked the Ha.

[Rodd]

3 minutes ago, Ibbo! said:

So far I have only stacked the Ha.

Well, that is a much harder decision.  I would think you would almost have to delay so you can collect RGB and have an image.  If you switch now, it was basically wasted time collecting the Ha.   The Moon complicates things for me because I can't just miss out on clear sky time....so I tend to start additional images with Ha.  That, of course, delays the change over even further.  At least with nebula you can have a decent mono image using Ha.  Not so much for galaxies though

[Ibbo!]

I do have some LRGB I don't think i have enough though. 😃

I will stack what I have and go from there.

[Rodd]

4 minutes ago, Ibbo! said:

I do have some LRGB I don't think i have enough though. 😃

I will stack what I have and go from there.

You might be surprised at how good it looks.  Its a strange hobby.  I tend to need hour upon hour of integration, but when I "stack what I have", at times that not being very much, the result is surprisingly decent.

[Ibbo!]

You could well be correct.

I think my obession with the squid has made me think I need more data on everything else.

[Rodd]

4 minutes ago, Ibbo! said:

You could well be correct.

I think my obession with the squid has made me think I need more data on everything else.

Yes, well, some things really do need it! 

[Rodd]

I see now that the grape cluster inside NGC 6939 is a product of my ineptitude.  The stars are not that close together.  i just saw an image where they are much smaller and therefore more distant from one another.  A damned frustrating hobby...even when you think your doing well you can be far from it.   Very discouraging

Edited July 30, 2020 by Rodd

[maw lod qan]

Nice image! 

Below the cluster, between the two large stars is a fuzzy smudge. Is that another galaxy in the distance?

[Rodd]

2 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

Nice image! 

Below the cluster, between the two large stars is a fuzzy smudge. Is that another galaxy in the distance?

I saw that recently too--yes, I believe it is.  At first I thought it might be related to the stars--but it does not look like a ray or halo. 

[maw lod qan]

It truly is unimaginable what is out there!

[Rodd]

3 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

It truly is unimaginable what is out there!

And its amazing what we can capture with very modest instruments (as far as size).  today, with the camera and processing technology, a 4-5" scope can rival what the great scopes of the 20th century could record.  I am always astounded when I look through encyclopedias or other reference books written in the age of film.  Its not even close

[Rodd]

Wellthe wisdom of Vlaiv strikes again.  I reprocessed the image targeting teh cluster instead of teh galaxy.  Not ethe cluster of grapes is no longer as compact.  I bet if I revisit the subs and keep oly the ones with teh best FWHM the spacing between teh stars would even be more.