M42 Scotland Dark Sky Park

[Astroscot2]

Hello all.

Ive been itching to get out under a dark sky for some time, It great having an observatory but every now and again its good to get out under the stars and see then how they should be seen.

I wanted to try my DSLR on the TAK for a first time and go for somthing fairly bright, M42 had been an idea for a while so when the skies cleared a week or so ago I took the trip down to Loch Doon just outside the Galloway dark sky park.

The resulting image is a combination of 5, 7 min and 15 sec exposures Total 2.5 hours with a modded canon 1000D on a TAK FSQ. I also added a little Ha taken from Keilder a few years back.

The skies looked good but there must have been some slight haze as there are a few halos I need to deal with. This is a first run at processing so intend going back when time allows. Also want to add more longer subs for the background a seeing Peters Shas image I see there is plenty more wispy stuff to catch.

Cheers

Mark

[dc509]

Lovely image! Really captured the ethereal nature of M42

[simon hicks]

Very nice Mark. Lots of brown dusty detail. Glad to see the flats worked out well.

[Earl]

Cracking image !!!

[prokyon]

Nice, very aesthetic. I like the colours.

[Astroscot2]

Thanks all. the image looks to need a contrast boost on my LCD at work, a few people have mentioned this.

[opticalpath]

Excellent!

I'm down south now but wife has family in Ayr, so I must try to get to the Park next time I'm in Scotland. Are there any facilities for casual visitors?

Adrian

[tiwar]

Stunning, ghostly amazing image....

T x

[RobH]

Very nice vibrant image. Seamless processing.

Cheers

Rob

[ollypenrice]

Indeed, a great success with a smooth, unforced look and a light touch on the processing. The dusty browns are not often seen so far out from the bright nebula. It must be quite low for you as well.

Olly

[peter shah]

such a nice shot with super detail and colour

[MartinB]

Fantastic work with the DSLR and beautifully processed as always Mark. You've controlled the halos very well and the background dust is showing very nicely. It all contributes to a remarkable image.

[russ]

wow that is spectacular!!!! Very nice indeed.