M57 Ring Nebula - Processing Nightmare

[Aramcheck]

49 x 3min exposures (2hr 27min) with SW200dps + EQ6 + Cannon 600d (astromodified) & IDAS D2 light pollution filter. Bortle 6 skies.

In order to bring out both the detail in M57 and retain as many of the faint fuzzies as I could, I had to apply a different stretch to the target nebula and background & then combine them at the end. I really didn't want to lose IC1296 (a small barred spiral galaxy which Simbad indicates is 243 million light years away), but in order to retain that 'low surface brightness' galaxy, the area surrounding M57 was very blown-out. Similarly, when stretching to maximise the detail in M57, the fainter stars / background was lost.

Combining the images was a bit of a nightmare - in the end I had to resort to using the stamp tool in Photoshop to remove the blown out nebula from the background & overlay it with the separate M57 stretch.

Cheers
Ivor

[MarkAR]

I think you've done well.

[City9Town0]

I also tried to image M57 this week and found a smudge that I subsequently identified via the web as IC1296. Very similar results. Isn't imaging a delight.