IC1396 - 46.4 hours Ha/OSC (Elephant Trunk Nebula)

[tooth_dr]

This the first data I collected for the astro season when we had a clear run on the following nights: 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th September.  I had some teething problems getting my kit up and running as it was sitting since April and needed a few software updates (along with a USB hardware issue), so the first two evenings I only had one scope operational.

I wasnt initially sure when I saw the OSC stack in APP that the time had been well spent, but when I starting zooming in on the elephant trunk I felt that it was justified.

APM 105/650 with Ha 3nm Chroma, QHY 268M, 66300s in 300s subs

APM 105/650 with ZWO 2600MC, 100800s in 120s subs

Mesu e200, OAG/290MM, PHD2, SGPro

Stacked and processed in APP, PI, Images Plus, PS

Total exposure = 46 hours 25 minutes

 

C+C welcome

Adam.

 

[simmo39]

46 hrs! stunning!

[glafnazur]

Wow, that's as a good an image of the Elephant Trunk as I've seen for a while. The cropped image has an almost 3D feel and I love the mono image 👍

[tooth_dr]

13 minutes ago, glafnazur said:

Wow, that's as a good an image of the Elephant Trunk as I've seen for a while. The cropped image has an almost 3D feel and I love the mono image 👍

Thank you! I love Ha mono images too. So much detail.

[tooth_dr]

27 minutes ago, simmo39 said:

46 hrs! stunning!

Cheers! Ended up with quite a few subs to process (1000+). 

[geeklee]

2 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

I wasnt initially sure when I saw the OSC stack in APP that the time had been well spent, but when I starting zooming in on the elephant trunk I felt that it was justified.

What an integration Adam!  You've created a superb set of images.  The Trunk looks stunning in mainly (?) RGB, with superb detail - was it tricky to blend the data sets?

Thanks for sharing the Ha too - I couldn't find a bit of noise anywhere! Sharp, detailed and full of contrast.

[tooth_dr]

32 minutes ago, geeklee said:

What an integration Adam!  You've created a superb set of images.  The Trunk looks stunning in mainly (?) RGB, with superb detail - was it tricky to blend the data sets?

Thanks for sharing the Ha too - I couldn't find a bit of noise anywhere! Sharp, detailed and full of contrast.

Thank you Lee.  I didn’t have too much bother combing the sets, maybe I didn’t make the most of the ha?!

I stacked the ha and OSC data separately.  I registered both integrations with each other in APP, and then cropped the registered images to give identical FOVs (my alignment is pretty close so I lose about 50-100 pixels).

I processed Ha - above attached image and then processed the OSC with PCC and BXT.  I removed stars from both images and saved those separately.

I extracted the red channel from the OSC image and pasted into a new document.  I added the ha image as a layer on top, set mode to lighten, and added at 20%.  I then stamped visible this image and copy and pasted it into the red channel of the OSC image.

A bit more processing and then add in the stars.  I run my stars images through image plus to tighten them up.  I used the Ha stars as luminance and the OSC star as colour.  Combined and pasted back into the ha-OSC image, layer set up screen mode!

 

[geeklee]

45 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I removed stars from both images and saved those separately.

45 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I used the Ha stars as luminance and the OSC star as colour.

Interesting idea with the Ha as star luminance 👍.  We have some amazing options and approaches for more easily working with stars at the moment.

That's one mre off the list from your tower of data that's been accumulating!  Great job.

Edited September 24, 2023 by geeklee

[tooth_dr]

57 minutes ago, geeklee said:

That's one mre off the list from your tower of data that's been accumulating!  Great job.

It’s a start, although it’s new data not the old stuff 😂

[symmetal]

Great image Adam. 🤗 You've captured very good detail, especially in the trunk's eye, or should it be trunk's nostril 😊 More than my narrowband effort does but then I only spent an hour per filter.  You were lucky to have such an extended period of good weather too.

Alan

[tooth_dr]

13 hours ago, symmetal said:

Great image Adam. 🤗 You've captured very good detail, especially in the trunk's eye, or should it be trunk's nostril 😊 More than my narrowband effort does but then I only spent an hour per filter.  You were lucky to have such an extended period of good weather too.

Alan

Thanks Alan, I think I'll maybe stick to about 20 hours per target, depending on the weather and filters required.

[Lee_P]

Looks great, goob job!

[ollypenrice]

Very, very nice indeed with invisible processing. The little details are delicious.

Olly

[Ouroboros]

Absolutely superb. 

[tooth_dr]

5 hours ago, Lee_P said:

Looks great, goob job!

Thanks Lee 👍🏼

5 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Very, very nice indeed with invisible processing. The little details are delicious.

Olly

Thank you Olly. Much appreciated 👌🏻

4 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

Absolutely superb. 

Thank you 🙏 

[kirkster501]

I love this object and have done it numerous times.  I love yours, one of the best I have ever seen.

[tooth_dr]

2 hours ago, kirkster501 said:

I love this object and have done it numerous times.  I love yours, one of the best I have ever seen.

I appreciate that comment Steve.  There is no substitute for lots of exposure time.