NGC 891

[tomato]

This edge on galaxy in Andromeda is one of my favourites, as far as I know it has no popular name but I would call it "the Two Lane Blacktop Galaxy" as it appears to have a tarry strip of asphalt running down the middle of it.

It has took some grinding out with the recent run of poor weather, first session was 6th August then nothing until the last two nights when the lion's share was captured. It's also a milestone for me as these last two sessions were the first I have left to complete unattended, all went well apart from some dome shutdown issues which some changes to the control programme should fix.

15 hrs integration taken with the Esprit 150/ASI 178 dual rig, 145 x 3 min L, 52 x 3 min each RGB.

Calibrated and stacked in APP, processed in Startools 1.8 and AP.

Thanks for looking

 

[alacant]

13 minutes ago, tomato said:

Startools 1.8

Great shot. Love it.

Did you get chance to run it through the new SVDecon module?

Cheers

 

[tomato]

3 minutes ago, alacant said:

Great shot. Love it.

Did you get chance to run it through the new SVDecon module?

Cheers

 

Thanks, I have used the SVDecon module, I had a go with the manual sampling but I was happier with the default settings result. There is an awful lot to experiment with!

[alacant]

11 minutes ago, tomato said:

the default settings

Here is a go with around 10 stars sampled, 6 iterations. Dunno...

This is with the jpg. I'm sure you could pull more from linear.

But yeah, as you say. Loads to absorb!

Cheers

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by alacant

[petevasey]

That's very nice 😁  You may recall several weeks ago I showed interest in the Esprit 150.  Your image has prompted me to have a go with my RC10 and see how it compares.   Just need a couple of clear nights, but as you mention not so easy to come by at the moment ☹️

Cheers,

Peter

Edited September 8, 2021 by petevasey

[tomato]

Yes, I nearly went the RC route for small targets, a truss tube RC appeals to the engineer in me, but in the end I was swayed by the simplicity of the refractor and the results @ollypenrice was achieving with the large refractor approach.

Plus a dual 10” RC rig would struggle to look through the dome aperture.☺️

[ollypenrice]

Good capture.

Regarding processing (and do please ignore this as no more than my personal feelings) I'd go easy on the black point. The sky is a bit black and flat for my taste. I'd let it up quite a lot for a more natural look.

Also, I know that lots of new astro software likes to be 'true to the data' but, in a shot like this, it makes no sense to me to process the galaxy and the stars in the same way. To my mind this cries out for a 'Layers' approach using a common background but a separate stretch and processing job for the stars. This might not be true to the data but it might be more true to the sky.

Nutshell: I like Alacant's galaxy but I would want to set it on a completely revamped background and field stars. I only say this because I think it's a cracking image to start with.

Olly

[tomato]

Thanks Olly. I do find the that StarTools (at least in my hands) tends to produce velvety black backgrounds, although there are options in the software to avoid this.

My other usual processing workflow of APP and AP does give a more natural background and the stars are less harsh, but I currently cannot get the required colour or detail by that route. 

And then there is PI.

Something to look at now the clouds are returning…

[ollypenrice]

44 minutes ago, tomato said:

Thanks Olly. I do find the that StarTools (at least in my hands) tends to produce velvety black backgrounds, although there are options in the software to avoid this.

My other usual processing workflow of APP and AP does give a more natural background and the stars are less harsh, but I currently cannot get the required colour or detail by that route. 

And then there is PI.

Something to look at now the clouds are returning…

And then... and then... there's Photoshop! So nice...

👹lly

[tomato]

10 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

And then... and then... there's Photoshop! So nice...

👹lly

Sorry, I’m firmly in the Affinity Photo camp now, they actually like Astrophotography!😊

[tomato]

And here is my hasty PI version. Is that extra galaxy detail real? I'm not so sure.

[gorann]

Really nice capture Steve with great detail in teh galaxy! Olly initially compained about a dark sky but now in your latest version I find it a bit too bright. Maybe also try to soften the red around some of the stars and there is a dark centre in your bightest star. Probably something created by these fancy programs, would not happen in PS😉

[tomato]

Thanks Goran, it’s my inexpert use of Pixinsight I’m afraid. I’ll take a step back and run the data again, attempting to implement all of the helpful suggestions. 
I will do some lucky imaging of this galaxy for the BAT project, then it’s time for a camera change or maybe dust off the RASA. Perhaps the scope change will prompt a change in the cloud cover?😉

[alacant]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

extra galaxy detail real

JTOL...

One way to find out would be to try StarTools start to finish. Just go really easy on the second (and any subsequent) AutoDevs. If you really do want the old look, add a touch of FilmDev. Oh, and stick the red in NBAccent? I wonder...

 

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by alacant

[tomato]

This is with a further 26 minutes of luminance added, from a total of 2.6 hrs taken as 5 sec 'Lucky Imaging' subs to try to improve the detail in the brighter regions.

I think I want to have a go at some widefield imaging now...

[simmo39]

all look good to me, very sharp image!