NGC2246: First Rosette nebula

[Uranium235]

Yet another clear night last night, it didnt go to well to begin with. First I dropped the laptop (thankfully undamaged), then an hour into the session I got fed up of being in backlash hell so I stripped the mount down and tightened everything up. After that it guided much better, and finally managed to get in a couple of 20min subs.

This was my first time on the Rosette, so I didnt know what to expect. Also I dont have a B mask for the ED80 (yet) so it was back to FWHM for focusing (groan). And even with a focal reducer I wasnt able to fit it all in.

Im pleased with the result though, the darker clouds look like splodges of ink the only thing im not sure of though is whether ive streched it enough, the backlit screen on this laptop can make background levels difficult to judge.

NGC2246: Rosette Nebula

10x300, 6x600, 2x1200s (Ha)

ED80 DS, 314L+

Setpoint -22.5

No calibration

Thanks for looking

[barkis]

Looks very good to me. Focus looks fine, and a good result fror a first attempt at it.

I have the same camera, so I'm always pleased to see good results.

Glad to hear the Lappy survived the drop. Must have been a worrying moment or two.

Ron.

[Uranium235]

Cheers Ron Yeah, it was a bit of a heartstopper moment. The only damage sustatined was the screen popping out of its case, but it snapped back into place ok. This is what happens when you have trailing USB cables, must be more careful in future.

I'd like to add colour to this, but first I need to get that B mask for the ED80... now ive used one with the newt im finding it hard to get along without one.

[Tim]

Looks great, the longer subs on this (and most Ha targets) really help with the depth of the image, and the richness.

The brighter edges of the lighter parts of the nebula, may respond well to a hi pass filter with a lowish radius, say 10, then overlay the layer and set blend mode to lighten, opacity to taste. See what you think.

Nice one anyways I have just started imaging a section of this myself (the ink blots)

Tim

[moocher]

Cracking shot, not sure if i'd have had the patience to strip the mount and start over again!!!! God I miss my 314....

Alan

[ollypenrice]

That is tremendous. It is really nicely stretched without getting into noise and is very smooth. To my mind it will take sharpening, as Tim is implying. I tend to use selective unsharp mask but there are various ways of doing it. The ionization fronts and Boks will really respond.

Great stuff after a trying start!!

Olly

[Uranium235]

Cracking shot, not sure if i'd have had the patience to strip the mount and start over again!!!! God I miss my 314....

Alan

It wasnt as bad as it sounds, all i had to to was take the scope off (all cables still attached), take a couple of screws out, then tighten up a few hex bolts. The freezing cold didnt make it easy though...lol.. numb hands!

Im really thinking about an EQ6 now, my mount is the weakest link as its a constant battle to get rid of dec backlash.

To try and sharpen it up a bit more ive done a quick re-stack using only the 10 and 20min subs and a high pass filter, to be honest i think a few of the 5min ones were a bit ropey in terms of focus.

Here are the "ink splodges" cropped, a bit sharper I think. Thanks to Tim for the info on the high pass filter. Though on closer inspection of the image ive noticed a number of scratches, maybe its time to take a few calibration frames too.