M42 widefield

[Phillyo]

Managed to actually get out for 2 nights on the trot and stack up around 9 hours or so of data on the Orion Nebula, including horse head nebula. There's SO much going on in this area that trying to do DBE is fun avoiding the dusty nebula.

This is my first try imaging this very famous nebula and I'm quite happy with the result so far. My skills in pixinsight still need to improve, and I might try and add even more data...or do a mosaic of the area?

Capture was the ASI533, Samyang 135, Antlia 5nm dual band filter on my EQ6-R Pro, guided with the ASI120mm Mini. Captured in NINA and processed in Pixinsight.

Thanks for looking. Comments/criticism very welcome!
Phil

[Phillyo]

Just curious, would adding RGB data to this help to improve it? If I were to extract the Ha data and use that as a luminance layer, or maybe add it as the red layer?

Phil

[Catanonia]

3 hours ago, Phillyo said:

Just curious, would adding RGB data to this help to improve it? If I were to extract the Ha data and use that as a luminance layer, or maybe add it as the red layer?

Phil

Starmask and replace wirh RGB stars would be nice. 

You could to a HaRGB, but be careful it doesn't end up too pink. That might give you more "colour" and interest in the M42 / IC434 regions

But that is a cracking image and yeah I bet DBE was a PITA to do on this.

I am guessing this the 135mm that this is a single shot and not a mosaic ? 

[Phillyo]

3 minutes ago, Catanonia said:

Starmask and replace wirh RGB stars would be nice. 

You could to a HaRGB, but be careful it doesn't end up too pink. That might give you more "colour" and interest in the M42 / IC434 regions

But that is a cracking image and yeah I bet DBE was a PITA to do on this.

I am guessing this the 135mm that this is a single shot and not a mosaic ? 

Yeah I was thinking RGB stars might be nice? I might give it a go and see how I do.

Ha, yeah I ended up only doing DBE in a few select points around the edge due to all the dusty stuff. To be honest though there wasn't much of a gradient anyway. It was a moonless night and I stacked everything using the NSG script which helps with gradients anyway, but thank you. It's one of my favourite images so far. 

Yes this is a single image. Thinking about doing a mosaic but to be honest due to such poor weather combined with it being so low in the sky, I'm not sure how long it would take me to add a few frames around it? Maybe I can add to it over the years and just expand it out a bit

Thanks.

[Catanonia]

3 hours ago, Phillyo said:

Yeah I was thinking RGB stars might be nice? I might give it a go and see how I do.

Ha, yeah I ended up only doing DBE in a few select points around the edge due to all the dusty stuff. To be honest though there wasn't much of a gradient anyway. It was a moonless night and I stacked everything using the NSG script which helps with gradients anyway, but thank you. It's one of my favourite images so far. 

Yes this is a single image. Thinking about doing a mosaic but to be honest due to such poor weather combined with it being so low in the sky, I'm not sure how long it would take me to add a few frames around it? Maybe I can add to it over the years and just expand it out a bit

Thanks.

Trick I learnt with DBE is to stretch it with ScreenTransfer and adjust the sliders to limits to show the areas where the nebulosity is. This makes DBE point selection MUCH easier and of course does not affect the image as it is still in a linear format.

[Clarkey]

I really like that image, particularly with a few stars. Great stuff. Strangely I was looking at something similar recently but my shortest FL is 180mm so it did not quite fit in without a mosaic.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Clarkey

[daywalker]

if i took that photo id be proud.   Ou reality beyond earth is strange indeed.What a wonderful universe.

[Adam1234]

WOW, excellent image

[UKDiver]

I like the top one without the stars. More like a painting. I also like the Horsehead shown as a small part of a much greater whole, rather than be an image subject alone.

[Simon Pepper]

Awesome your stars are on point! Something I just can’t get with my SY 135! Can you provide the gear you used to attach the camera I think the connection I have is letting it down. Great capture!

Edited January 13, 2022 by Simon Pepper

[Phillyo]

13 hours ago, Simon Pepper said:

Awesome your stars are on point! Something I just can’t get with my SY 135! Can you provide the gear you used to attach the camera I think the connection I have is letting it down. Great capture!

I bought the adapter that converts the SY from a canon mount into a screw on mount, then an updated filter drawer plus spacers so that everything screws together nice and tight. I found that using the usual canon connection there was a bit of sag any my star shapes at the corners weren't great. I also use step down rings on the front of the lens to bring it down to 36mm, so around F3.6 I think? Helps to tighten everything up plus it means the filters work better and you reduce the band shift issue caused by fast optics.

 

14 hours ago, UKDiver said:

I like the top one without the stars. More like a painting. I also like the Horsehead shown as a small part of a much greater whole, rather than be an image subject alone.

Thank you! Yes, I love the top one. I might try and add some RGB data just to see what it does but we'll see.

Thanks all.

[Lee_P]

Looks great, I particularly like the unusual composition.

[Simon Pepper]

2 hours ago, Phillyo said:

I bought the adapter that converts the SY from a canon mount into a screw on mount, then an updated filter drawer plus spacers so that everything screws together nice and tight. I found that using the usual canon connection there was a bit of sag any my star shapes at the corners weren't great. I also use step down rings on the front of the lens to bring it down to 36mm, so around F3.6 I think? Helps to tighten everything up plus it means the filters work better and you reduce the band shift issue caused by fast optics.

 

Thank you! Yes, I love the top one. I might try and add some RGB data just to see what it does but we'll see.

Thanks all.

Have you got the link to the screw on one please? Thank you 

[Phillyo]

43 minutes ago, Simon Pepper said:

Have you got the link to the screw on one please? Thank you 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-samyang-lens-to-m48-adapter.html

Along with this:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo-2-filter-drawer-m42-m48.html

Plus some spacers: 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/account/order/PO198011/

[wongataa]

Nebula pictures without stars are interesting because it is easier to see the shapes in the gasses but they look somehow wrong to me.  You can also see home artefacts from the brighter stars in  the no star version.  I feel it would improve the image if these were removed so there was no trace of any stars left.

I prefer pictures with the stars because they seem more real to me as that is how you would actually see them so I prefer the starry version.  Great image.

[Chefgage]

The first image struck me as some sort of end of world scenario. Looks to me like billowing fire coming from the skies to end us all.

Very nice image 👍

[Phillyo]

12 hours ago, Chefgage said:

The first image struck me as some sort of end of world scenario. Looks to me like billowing fire coming from the skies to end us all.

Very nice image 👍

Yeah there's a lot going on in that area. Thank you.

Nice to some another fellow Lincolnite on here too