Comet C/2007 - N3 - Lulin

[RichieJarvis]

Hi All,

Stephen Green kindly lent me his SXVF-M25 to have a crack at our new friend Lulin, so these images are 'joint' ownershpi between Stephen and I.

Friday as a washout - just as I had got everything setup the clouds rolled in and ruined it. Last night was alot better. It took me a long while to persuade MaximDL to guide on the comet nucleus, but once done I was able to grab 14 x 5 minute subs using the GSO 8" F/4 Newtonian.

There are 2 versions of this - the first I feel has taken a few liberties with processing. After I had grabbed the comet-guided subs, I re-targeted on a guidestar, and grabbed 4 x 5 minute subs of the starfield. The comet data was then Sigma-combined to try and remove the stars as much as possible, and then I used the dust and scratches tool to remove the star trails further. A bit of blurring later, and then I was able to combine a feathered image of the comet with the background. Here it is:

This image is just a simple sum of the 14 exposures:

Comments welcome!

Thanks,

Richie & Stephen

[RichieJarvis]

I was not happy with the results in the composite image, so today I've had another go at processing the data.

I think this has turned out much better I wish I could get rid of the Coma though

Thanks,

Richie and Stephen

[Psychobilly]

Nice images RJ...

I prefer the first composite as the comets tail is too "clean" in the re-process.. edges are a bit hard...

Just my thoughts...

Billy..

[NickH]

Looks too artificial to me...almost like a kids fantasy character blazing across the sky. Much prefer the one with the startrails

[RichieJarvis]

Hmm - might see if I can isolate the comet from the summed data then....

Thanks for the comments - I can see what you mean

Wish I hadn't closed PS now - I'll have to start again (but maybe thats a good thing!)

Cheers,

Richie

[barkis]

They are very creditable efforts Richie, but I think the guide on the comet leaving startrails comes out best, and it is a superb capture.

Ron.

[Psychobilly]

I honestly dont think theres anything wrong with the first one RJ... the Comets nicely "fuzzy" ....

Billy...

[Tim]

Rich, have you tried the comet stacking options in DSS?

[RichieJarvis]

Hi Tim,

I had a little go with it yesterday, and was not impressed with the results. I'll have another bash at some point...

Cheers,

Richie

[Doc]

I think the first one is a corker. The best of the bunch.

[Dangerous-Dave]

I agree with Nick, the ones with the tight stars look like the comet is over processed. The one with the trailed stars is right on the money though.

Either way, excellent stuff.

[Sam]

I like the second one Richie (the one with the star trails). It's a great shot and shows the shape of the comet really well.

[Apatchy]

Not to keen on the reprocessed one but i really like the 1st one.

[Taff]

Hi Richie' They are great captures with you nice colour of the comet.Mark