NGC 6992 Veil Nebula

[imakebeer]

My first DSO AP since May 2023, plus first time using my new ASIAIR Mini and first time using autoguiding - excited!!!

(but also hurriedly trying to relearn what little I had learned in my 6-9 months up to that point!)

Really just a test drive of the new gear but had to jump in the deep end. Struggled initially with alignment but then everything suddenly clicked and I was off.

Previously with no guiding the best I could reliably manage was 1min subs so I was stunned I manage a 5min test sub with apparently no trailing! In the end I went for a more conservative 2mins and I'm pleased with the result after some quick processing in Siril (+Starnet) + GIMP.

Maybe it's just me but when I see this target I always see the Alien cranium and jaws looming threateningly out of the darkness!

It always amazes me at the colours that come out of DSO's, it's what the camera picks up rather than something we add. Comparing notes with older stuff I think I've made a booboo and gone with too high an ISO compared with old stuff but that can be fixed next time, plus I want to see what benefits dithering brings.

SW150PDS + + HEQ5 Pro + Canon 450D (modified)
Altair 60mm guidescope + ZWO ASI120MC-S
80 x 120s lights @ ISO 1600
+12 darks, 25 biases & 30 flats

[Vroobel]

😏

 

Edited August 17 by Vroobel

[imakebeer]

Nice one @Vroobel , I knew I wasn't imagining it! 🤣

[wesdon1]

On 17/08/2024 at 12:29, imakebeer said:

My first DSO AP since May 2023, plus first time using my new ASIAIR Mini and first time using autoguiding - excited!!!

(but also hurriedly trying to relearn what little I had learned in my 6-9 months up to that point!)

Really just a test drive of the new gear but had to jump in the deep end. Struggled initially with alignment but then everything suddenly clicked and I was off.

Previously with no guiding the best I could reliably manage was 1min subs so I was stunned I manage a 5min test sub with apparently no trailing! In the end I went for a more conservative 2mins and I'm pleased with the result after some quick processing in Siril (+Starnet) + GIMP.

Maybe it's just me but when I see this target I always see the Alien cranium and jaws looming threateningly out of the darkness!

It always amazes me at the colours that come out of DSO's, it's what the camera picks up rather than something we add. Comparing notes with older stuff I think I've made a booboo and gone with too high an ISO compared with old stuff but that can be fixed next time, plus I want to see what benefits dithering brings.

SW150PDS + + HEQ5 Pro + Canon 450D (modified)
Altair 60mm guidescope + ZWO ASI120MC-S
80 x 120s lights @ ISO 1600
+12 darks, 25 biases & 30 flats

@imakebeer Hey you! I was wondering where you'd gone! lol. 

Mate it's great to see you back but more importantly it's great to see your enthusiasm for the hobby! I can sooo relate to that, I'm like a kid at christmas with new gear! lol.

Your veil neb is awesome, love it mate! And @Vroobel has done an awesome job posting what you were describing you see in the Vale Neb! 

I agree the camera only picks up what it actually sees, it's just our naked eyes can't. I think maybe that is partly why some folk accuse us of "faking" the colours etc? ( I'd love to get them outside one night, and take a 2 minute sub of M42 then show them the pic that appears on my unmodded DSLR camera! They'd soon shut up! LOL )

Kind Regards, Wes.

[WolfieGlos]

I thought you had just been making beer for a long time, welcome back and nice result 👍

Like you and Vroobel, I always see the Alien in this one too 👽 

Only comment would be the background, it’s a bit mushy either side of the Veil, but rather black in the middle. Otherwise nice job 👍 

[imakebeer]

9 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

I thought you had just been making beer for a long time, welcome back and nice result 👍

Like you and Vroobel, I always see the Alien in this one too 👽 

Only comment would be the background, it’s a bit mushy either side of the Veil, but rather black in the middle. Otherwise nice job 👍 

Haha, yes, I've managed to get a decent amount of brewing in while I've been away (involves more washing up but fewer cables!)

Thanks for your comments, this is good feedback, I agree with you. I had a second go at this target last night so have hopefully made some improvements on the capture side. But the other aspect is trying to remember what I had learned previously on the processing side - since posting that pic I've remembered that what I could have done is used layer masks in GIMP to control the nebulosity and the background either side of it independently of one another.

[WolfieGlos]

4 hours ago, imakebeer said:

(involves more washing up but fewer cables!)

😆

To be honest, I thought it was an error from using Background Extraction in Siril, just remember to remove the auto-generated points away from the nebulosity and see what difference it makes. It almost looks like a radial noise pattern in the mush.

[imakebeer]

6 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

😆

To be honest, I thought it was an error from using Background Extraction in Siril, just remember to remove the auto-generated points away from the nebulosity and see what difference it makes. It almost looks like a radial noise pattern in the mush.

You may very well have hit the nail on the head!

I think I was always a bit dubious about what BE in Siril was doing. I'm just having a play right now with GraXpert - I noticed that unlike Siril, when I used the RBF function in GraXpert it didn't put points over the nebulosity. I have also tried the AI method but I'm not sure it's better TBH. We shall see.

[imakebeer]

I've had another go with the same data - I ran it through GraXpert for BE and denoise though I'm not sure it's dramatically better than Siril in this case. Instead I've gone to town with layers and masks in GIMP. I like this one better, I think I've brought out more detail in the nebulosity but I think the black is a bit too stark now, too artificial - I can't quite get the balance right to get it more natural looking. It's really tricky thought - comparing to my previous best of M51 in May 2023 there are just sooooo many teeny weeny tiny stars in the background of this region around the Veil!

Still, it's all useful practice as I get back up to speed 👍

[WolfieGlos]

Good job on sorting out the background, but yeah, like you say, you've clipped the blacks it seems.

It's never easy is it, but I'm sure you'll soon be back in the swing of things