Jump to content

Narrowband

18 Months On and Look at the Difference!


Recommended Posts

Mid-Summer is a No-Go for imaging at my latitude because there's just too much light in the sky. So I spend my time processing stacks from other SGL members who kindly post them on here for the likes of me to play with, and re-processing my own past images.

Tonight I though I would re-visit NGC7023, The Iris Nebula. I took the images back in December 2020 (my original thread is HERE) and there was just over 5 hours worth of Subs. When I last processed this image, I hadn't had PixInsight that long and was still very much on the learning curve with this software and tried a few different things with it at the time.

18 months later and I'm still learning PI, but I have a much better understanding of how it works and I have a workflow which, I feel, produces good results. Some processes have made life much easier since I first worked on this image, NoiseXTerminator and StarXTerminator are two, but mainly is my use of Curves and more ability to drag out that finer detail.

And that's mainly what this thread is about, showing that as you get more experience with your processing software (no matter which one you use), the more you realise just how much detail you originally got in your data.

So, here's the before & after images.

This is the best processing I originally got from the data using PI and I was pleased with the results at the time:

1904317237_NGC7023-IrisNebula-06122020.png.b32150baae1dd281e85a6151f5cf820b.png

And this is the exact same data, only re-stacked (using DSS) & re-processed this evening. Notice how much extra dust is now visible in the image, the dust was always there, I just didn't know how to bring it all out. I feel the stars are also more controlled, have added colour and are less dominant in this version, allowing the nebula to be the focus of the image.

456388330_NGC7023-IrisNebula-06122020-5hrs.png.ff74f3c943d11abbb76e546d10008824.png 

I know not everyone likes the processing side of the hobby and some find it really difficult to get to grips with. I just hope that this gives some encouragement and shows that, with time, your processing skills will & do improve so you can get the most out the data you've collected. If it's a cloudy night, revisit you old data and just see what you can make of it now, you may be surprised! ;)

 

  • Like 19
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ONIKKINEN said:

The second one looks a bit green, at least on a phone screen. Other than that it does look much deeper with far better visibility of the nebula.

I left a bit of green in there, but took 80% out with SCNR late in the processing. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely image Martin, and what a clever way of comparing using the same data. I imaged the Iris nebula for the first time ( using my new new setup with an ASiAir Pro) round about the same time back in December.  I didn't get as much data as you but I love the way you have pulled out the darker dusty regions. I think I am going to go back and image it again this winter and use it as a project to improve my own use of PI - you have inspired me :) 

Jim 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, saac said:

Lovely image Martin, and what a clever way of comparing using the same data. I imaged the Iris nebula for the first time ( using my new new setup with an ASiAir Pro) round about the same time back in December.  I didn't get as much data as you but I love the way you have pulled out the darker dusty regions. I think I am going to go back and image it again this winter and use it as a project to improve my own use of PI - you have inspired me :) 

Jim 

Thanks Jim,

I'll be doing the same and take a new set of subs this year. The one's above were taken with my modified Canon EOS 1300D, so it'll be interesting to see what I can get with the ASI294MC Pro and, as there's quite a bit of darker dust in that region, I'll use the Evostar ED80 DS Pro this time to get a wider FOV. ;)

Give me a shout if you're needing any pointers with PI, always happy to help. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Martin, I'll take you up on that :) Skill fade has been a big issue with me and processing; I tend to only fit in a few imaging sessions each year what with work and weather.  Last winter I finally got to a point where I was happy with both my image acquisition (largely due to use of the ASiAir) and my PI processing. My PI workflow is still basic so I like the idea of concentrating on one target  and using that as testbed to gauge improvement like you showed.  I think 3 hours is about my longest image run so I'm looking to increase this; imaging over multiple nights is my challenge for this year.  Roll on the dark nights, but not too soon we need a summer to enjoy, even if it is wet :) 

Jim 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.