Astro Anarchy: Narrowband color images

Showing posts with label Narrowband color images. Show all posts

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Filaments of Veil Nebula SNR

I shot most of the lights for this image back in 2016, now I have added some new material to it and reprocessed the whole image. An older mapped color version can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2016/12/filaments-of-veil-nebula.html

Photo was shot with a Celestron Edge HD 11" telescope, Astrodon naarrow band filters and Apogee Alta U16 astro camera. New data is shot with a shorter focal length instrument, Tokina AT-x 300mm f2.8 camera lens, same camera and filters. Dim background emission is taken from a new material and added to this photo.

Total exposure time is now 44 hours for the whole three frame mosaic and the resolution is 11.000 x 4000 pixels.

Filaments of central veil

Click for a large image (1100 x 2900 pixels)

Image is in visual palette from emission of an ionized elements, hydrogen (H-alpha), sulfur (S-II) and oxygen (O-III). Red=Hydrogen + 33% sulfur, Green=oxygen and Blue=oxygen + 33% hydrogen to compensate otherwise missing H-beta emission.

A closeup
Click for a large image

Orientation

Click for a large image

Unveiling the Veiled

Every single pixel in this 3d-animation is from the original 2D-image above. The model is based on on known scientific facts, deduction and some artistic creativity. The result is an appraised simulation of reality. Astronomical photos are showing objects as paintings on a canvas, totally flat. In reality, they are three dimensional forms floating in three dimensional space. The purpose of my 3d-experiments is to show that and Give an idea, how those distant objects might look in reality. More info about my 3D-technique at end of this blog post: https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/10/unveiling-veiled.html

NOTE. It looks like that the animation has less stars, than the original 2d-image. That's not true, stars is normal photo are getting projected to a same plane. In 3D-model stars are in volume and it only looks like, that there are less stars.

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Veil nebula unveiled II

I haven't start the imaging season yet, up here 65N. Nights are still short and I haven't got my imaging rig ready after the mandatory six months Summer break.

I have reprocessed some older shots with new data, this time the Veil nebula supernova remnant in Cygnus. Original image was shot with the Canon EF 200 mm f1.8 camera optics full open, QHY9 astro camera and Baader narrowband filters at 2013.

New data is shot with Tokina 300mm f2.8 camera optics and Celestron Edge HD 11" telescope, Apogee Alta U16 astro camera with Astrodon narrowband filters.
Total exposure time is now about 45 hours. I published yesterday a Pickering's Triangle photo taken with Celestron Edge HD 11"-. It's part of this new image among other.

Veil nebula Unveiled
Click for a large image, 1250 x 1700 pixels

A Closeup

Click for a large image

An older image from 2013 can be found here,
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2013/12/veil-nebula-unveiled.html

Monday, September 27, 2021

Pickering's Triangle in Visual palette

I have reprocessed some older data and made a new composition out of it. Pickering's Triangle is part of the Veil nebula supernova remnant in constellation Cygnus. It has an amazing structure of complex gas filaments. This image is one of the most detailed presentations, showing the whole triangle shape formation, I have seen so far.

Image is in visual palette from emission of an ionized elements, hydrogen (H-alpha), sulfur (S-II) and oxygen (O-III). Red=Hydrogen + 33% sulfur, Green=oxygen and Blue=oxygen + 33% hydrogen to compensate otherwise missing H-beta emission. (H-beta and H-alpha has a same shape but H-beta is weaker. H-alpha emits red light and H-beta emits blue light.) Exposure time ~20 hours.
here you can see ta mapped color image from same data, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/08/pickerings-triangle-reprocessed-with.html

Pickering's Triangle with some new lights
click for a large image

A Closeup
click for a large image

The complex structure of gas filaments

Orientation in Veil nebula SNR
click for a large image

Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.

Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 33% weight

Color combine in PS CS3

Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics

Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope

Mount

10-micron 1000

Cameras and filters

Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel

Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL

Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha

Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III

Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II

Exposure times

H-alpha, 15 x 1200s = 5h

O-III, 36 x 1200s binned = 12h (Autumn 2014)

S-II, from my older wide field photo of the Veil Nebula = 3h

Total 20h

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Supernova Remnant Simeis 147, new data added

I have made a new version of my NASA APOD and National Geographic Image of the Week photo. Simeis 147 is a large and very dim supernova remnant in constellation Taurus.

I combined an old data with a new data, with different optics and camera, together.
As a result I have more details, vivid colors and better overall signal in the new photo. An
older photo is from 2011 and the new photo from 2020. Total exposure time in this new composition is over 45 hours.

Simeis 147 SNR
Click for a large image, 1700 x 1200 pixels

Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulphur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen

An Experimental Starless Version

Actual filaments of the supernova remnant can be seen better in this starless version.

A Closeup

Photo in Visual palette

INFO

Simeis 147 (sharpless 240), is a very faint and large supernova remnant in constellation Taurus at distance of ~3000 light years. It's constantly expanding at speed of 1000 km/second but due the size of it, we can't see any movement in it. This SN spans over 160 light years and the apparent scale in the sky is about three degrees (Moon has an apparent size of 30" = 0,5 degrees). Explosion took place approximately 30.000 years ago and left behind a pulsar (Neutron star). The pulsar has recently identified.

How long it'll takes to this supernova remnant to expand 1% large when the diameter is 160 light years and it expands at speed of 1000 km/second.

Answer is ~480 years.
(1% of diameter 160/100= 16, as kilometers ~151.372.800.000.00, = Y, km,
1000 km/second is ~315.360.000.00, = Z, kilometers/year.
So, X x Z = Y and X=Z/Y, X = 480 years with given values)

SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

This artwork belongs to my VISION Series, the image is made out of my original photo of starless Simeis 147 supernova remnant.

Every single element in Vision series photos are from my original astronomical photos. I have been using the Overlapping Lightning Method (Multi Exposure Method) to create my Vision series photographs. By this method the forms and structures in astronomical object get multiplied, they are now forming a new visual dimension beyond our physical universe.

Closeup

Artworks are made purely out of starless Simeis 147 image.

Technical Details

Photo from 2020

Processing workflow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.

Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight

Color combine in PS CS3

Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics

Tokina AT-x f2.8 camera lens

Mount

10-micron 1000

Cameras and filters

Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel

Guider camera, Lodestar x 2 and an old spotting scope of Meade LX200

Astrodon filters,

5nm H-alpha 3nm S-II and 3nm O-III

Total exposure time

H-alpha, 15 x 1200 s, binned 1x1 = 5 h

O-III, 24x 600 s, binned 2x2 = 4 h

S-II, 1 x 12 x 600 s. binned 2x2 = 2 h

Photo from 2011

Processing work flow:

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.

Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.

Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight

Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.

Optics, Canon EF 200mm camera lens at f1.8

Camera, QHY9

Guiding, Meade LX200 GPS 12" and a Lodestar guider

Image Scale, ~5 arcseconds/pixel

Exposures

H-alpha 34x900s, Binned 1x1

H-alpha 14x1800s, Binned 1x1
H-alpha 42x1200s, binned 1x1

Total exposure time for Hydrogen alpha is 26h

O-III & S-II channels are from an older image, exposure time 8h

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

A starless Pickering's Triange

As far as I know, I was the first who published starless nebula images back in 2007. At the time the feedback was less than positive.

The reason to publish such a unorthodox images was that the starless version is a part of my processing workflow and it can sometimes show more than the actual image.
I have used this technique ever since and published some starless images now and then.

Starless images are very powerful, when I want to dig out some really dim objects in a very dense starfield. It makes processing so much easier, I don't need to be careful not to blow up the stars.
Normally all the stars are placed back with a zero data lost after processing is done.

Starless images are also a great help to see the actual structure in the nebula since human brains has a tendency to form a quasi logical shapes out of the random cloud of dots, like stars are.

A Starless Pickering's Triangle
Please, click for a large image, it's worth it!

Part of Veil Nebula supernova remnant, the Pickering's Triangle.Colors are from the ionized elements, Hydrogen, Sulfur and Oxygen. S-II = Red, H-alpha = Green and O-III = Blue. This is one of the most detailed image of the Pickering's Triangle I have ever seen.

A wide field photo of the Veil Nebula supernova remnant

The Pickering's Triangle can be see at one o'clock position.

My blog post about the wide field shot can be seen HERE.

Technical details:
https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2015/09/pickerings-triangle-my-first-light-for.html

Sunday, August 1, 2021

A new photo, Monkey Head Nebula, Lower's nebula, Jelly Fish nebula and Messier 35

I shot material for this mosaic image at end of the spring season 2021. I haven't got time to finalize it until now. I kind of like this image, it's very deep and shows the very dim background mist and a very dense starfield of the galaxy plane. Total exposure time with Tokina AT-x 300mm f2,8 camera lens, Apogee u16 Astro camera and Astrodon narrowband filters is around 6 hours, the exposure time with Celestron Edge telescope is around 30 hours.

An other interesting feature in this imaging project is that I did use my VARES-processing method to this.
(Variable Resolution imaging) I have shot the nebulae in this wide field image with a long focal length instrument, the Celestron Edge 11" few years ago. I use this high res material to boost details in the wide field image. But that's not all!

I used the VARES technique to add deepness to my older long focal length images. I added the very dim background nebula data from wide filled images to long focal length images. The result was very good. Now all detailed features in the image, like stars, brighter nebula details and dark nebulae are form high res image data. The dim and relatively featureless data is taken from the wide field image. At the end the both datasets are combined by VARES-processing method to a one very deep and detailed image.

Monkey Head nebula. Messier 35 and the Jellyfish Nebula
Click for a large image!

Mapped colors from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.

Wider mosaic, from Lower's Nebula to Jellyfish Nebula

Click for a large image! (2500 x 1100 pixels)

This mosaic image has 12 frames stitched together.

Labeled

Click for a large image!

Long focal length images boosted with a very deep wide field data.

Monkey Head nebula, NGC 2175
Click for a large image

The wide field data boosted long focal length image, original photo and details can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2015/03/ngc-2174-monkey-head-nebula-project.html
I think, this was a first image in the World showing the extremely dim lower part, "Teil of the Monkey", of the nebula.

Lower's Nebula, Sh2-261
Click for a large image

The wide field data boosted long focal length image, original photo and details can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/01/lowers-nebula.html

Jellyfish Nebula, the supernova remnant IC433
Click for a large image

The wide field data boosted long focal length image, original photo and details can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2015/01/jellyfish-nebula-ic-443-supernova.html

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Photo number 8, The Chinese Dragon

Chinese Dragon,

This is the only image in the World showing the constellation Cygnus so deep and detailed

Image is reduced to size of 2600 x 4200 pixels from the original 30.000 x 17.000 pixels. Click for a large image, it's worth it! Mosaic image was shot between September 2010 and December 2020

NEW, a Zoomable image

Location in the Great Mosaic of the Milky Way

Click for a large image, area of interest ids marked as white rectangle

The Dragon, 4K-MOVIE
Duration ~one minute

About this photo

This photo means a lot to me personally. Not only due to large amount of work and time I spent with this area of sky, it also has a deeper meaning for me.

When you spent a decade working with a one photo to get it ready, it's like a long marriage. The passionate love is slowly turning to a deeper connection and at the end you'll grow together and can't live without the others company. As in marriage, during the years I have had friction in the relationship, even hate. But after desperate times the love always wins.

I'm a perfectionist, when dealing with my photography. This feature is essential for a great results but it also can cause problems in relationship. There have been times when I almost get a divorce and started looking for another, easier target since I couldn't get out all of the extreme dim and difficult details I wanted to see and show. I didn't even know, if they are there since there wasn't any references to compare. I didn't give up and finally after long nights and hundreds of exposure hours I get what I was after. Now we can grow old together and I know for sure, I will always find something new and existing from my love one, the Chinese Dragon..

Total exposure time is way over 600 hours, they are shot between 2010 and 2020. Some areas of this mosaic panorama required more exposure time than others. There are two very diffused supernova remnants in this mosaic. Both are large and extremely dim. I have used about 170 hours of exposures for them alone! There aren't any deep and large enough photos around showing them well.

I have started this imaging project back at 2010. My aim was to make a high resolution mosaic covering the whole constellation Cygnus. Work like that takes time and patience, especially since I have worked so, that many of the individual sub mosaics or frames can be published as an individual artworks. Here is a poster format presentation about all of the longer focal length images used for this mosaic beside longer focal length panels.

(3300 x 5500 pixels)

A location for each photo is marked at the older version of the mosaic image of the constellation Cygnus at center.

As a result I have now a huge 95 panel mosaic panorama covering 28 x 18 degrees of sky. I have collected photons way over 600 hours during past ten years for this photo. The full size mosaic image has a size of about 25.000 x 15.000 pixels.

Two + one supernova remnants, two Wolf Rayet stars and a black hole

There are two large supernova remnants visible in this photo, first the Cygnus Shell W63 , bluish ring at upper left quarter, secondly the large SNR G65.3+5.7 at utmost right.
Just outside of the field of view lays the famous Veil Nebula SNR at bottom middle.

Beside two supernova remnants there are two Wolf Rayet stars with outer shell formations. NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula at center of the image and the WR 134, it can be seen as a blue arch just right from the Crescent Nebula, near the Tulip nebula.

Next to the Tulip Nebula lays a Black hole Cygnus X-1.

Constellation Cygnus is an endless source of celestial wonders, both scientifically and aesthetically. For me, as an visual artist, this area of night sky is very inspiring There are endless amount of amazing shapes and structures, I can spend rest of my life just shooting images from this treasury.

Please, click the image for full resolution

Note. The third supernova remnant is marked at this image, it's just outside of the actual field of view. I left it out on purpose due to compositional reasons.

Technical details

Original resolution in pixels, 25.000 x 15.000

The NASA astronomer wrote about this image:

In brush strokes of interstellar dust and glowing gas, this beautiful skyscape is painted across the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy near the northern end of the Great Rift and the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Composed over a decade with 400 hours of image data, the broad mosaic spans an impressive 28x18 degrees across the sky. Alpha star of Cygnus, bright, hot, supergiant Deneb lies at the left. Crowded with stars and luminous gas clouds Cygnus is also home to the dark, obscuring Northern Coal Sack Nebula and the star forming emission regions NGC 7000, the North America Nebula and IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula, just left and a little below Deneb. Many other nebulae and star clusters are identifiable throughout the cosmic scene. Of course, Deneb itself is also known to northern hemisphere skygazers for its place in two asterisms, marking a vertex of the Summer Triangle, the top of the Northern Cross.

This is a large area of sky! (28 x 18 degrees) The mosaic photo is in mapped colours, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulphur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen. Image has over five million stars visible in it.

I have used several optical configurations for this mosaic image during the years. Up to 2014 I was using an old Meade LX200 GPS 12" scope, QHY9 astrocam, Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics and baader narrowband filter set.
After 2014 I have had 10-micron 1000 equatorial mount, Apogee Alta U16 astro camera, Tokina AT-x 200mm f2.8 camera lens and the Astrodon 50mm square narrowband filter set.
I have shot many details with a longer focal length, before 2014 by using Meade 12" scope with reducer and after 2014 Celestron EDGE 11" and reducer. Quider camera has been Lodestar and Lodestar II.

A version of this photo was selected as an Astronomical Picture Of the Day by NASA
APOD, https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210211.html

Mosaic panels in chronological order

Here is an image about individual panels shot for this large mosaic image.
There are 37 base panels with shorter focal length tools (200mm f2.8 Tokina and 200mm f1.8 Canon) There is also 59 sub-panels used, they are shot with my old 12" Meade and 11" Celestron Edge scopes.
Here is a poster format presentation and a list all of longer focal length images used for this mosaic beside the actual panels, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2018/11/treasures-of-swan.html

Evolution of the mosaic between 2010 and 2020
Click for a large image

More info

https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/12/cygnus-project-grande-finale-for-now.html

Friday, May 7, 2021

All my photos from the Spring season 2021

After each season and year, I have made a poster format presentation about all of my images taken at that period. Spring season 2021 was little different since I got ready the massive mosaic image of the Northern Milky Way. This is only photo in the World, showing the Northern Milky Way by this accuracy and depth. There are several extremely dim objects seen in full glory at the first time in the World in this mosaic panorama.

All my photos from the Spring season 2021
Click for a large image

"The Space Between Us" https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/03/space-between-cygnus-and-cepheus.html
The Constellation cassiopeia
From Cassiopeia to Cygnus, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/02/this-gigapixel-mosaic-has-over-900.html
"Cirrus of Cygnus", https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/12/cirrus-of-cygnus-and-supernova-remnant.html
SNR G65.5+5.7, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/11/g65357-large-supernova-remnant-in_22.html
Sharpless 132, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/02/sharpless-132-sh2-132-with-new-data.html
Lower's Nebula, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/01/lowers-nebula.html
From Taurus to Perseus, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-new-mosaic-image-from-taurus-to.html
From Cassiopeia to Cepheus, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/01/mosaic-image-gets-large-400-hours-and.html
From Cassiopeia to Cepheus, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/01/mosaic-image-gets-large-400-hours-and.html
The Grand Mosaic of the Milky Way, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/03/gigapixel-mosaic-of-milky-way-1250.html

All my photos from the year 2020
Click for a full size poster (2000 x 2800 pixels)

NOTE, images are not in scale to each other. ore info about the year 2020 can be seen here, https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2020/12/all-my-photos-from-year-2020.html

I have a new logo now

That's me in the silhuet. The image can be seen some kind of planetary conjunction or even a stylished Moon. But it actually shows a very typical situation when I'm about to start an imaging session and I'm looking for the sky quality. The half circle like cutting at two o'clock is showing the rear end of my telescope.

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Space between Cygnus and cepheus

I have published several large mosaic image panoramas in a past year. I have made several smaller sub-panoramas, they are working as an independent artworks.

This image shows an area between well known and much imaged objects, I always like to find a new viewpoints to the sky.

The space between Cygnus and Cepheus
Click for a large image, it's worth it

Image in mapped colors from the light emitted by an ionized elements, hydrogen = green, sulfur = red and oxygen = blue.

A closeup to show the resolution
Click for a large image,

A closeup from the main image shows the Sharpless 124 at up and the Cocoon nebula with a dark gas stream at bottom.

The mosaic, technical info

Panels used for the mosaic image are marked here, panels are shot between 2010 and 2021

I have used several optical configurations for this mosaic image during the years. Up to 2014 I was using an old Meade LX200 GPS 12" scope, QHY9 astrocam, Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics and baader narrowband filter set. After 2014 I have had 10-micron 1000 equatorial mount, Apogee Alta U16 astro camera, Tokina AT-x 200mm f2.8 camera lens and the Astrodon 50mm square narrowband filter set. I have shot many details with a longer focal length, before 2014 by using Meade 12" scope with reducer and after 2014 Celestron EDGE 11" and reducer. Quider camera has been Lodestar and Lodestar II.

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Nebulae of Auriga and how my mosaic images are done.

I'll like to show the actual resolution of this and other of my large mosaic images by posting a close up from this panorama. Since there are data from so many years (2009 -2021) and it has been shot with various optical configurations, I had to develop a new method to combine frames for a mosaic image.

A closeup from the panorama
Click for a large image

This closeup is reduced about 80% from the original resolution

In my last blog post I published a panoramic mosaic image showing the sky between taurus and Perseus. https://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-new-mosaic-image-from-taurus-to.html

The Mosaic Work

Up to 2014 I was using an old Meade LX200 GPS 12" scope, QHY9 astrocam, Canon EF 200mm f1.8 camera optics and baader narrowband filter set. After 2014 I have had 10-micron 1000 equatorial mount, Apogee Alta U16 astro camera, Tokina AT-x 200mm f2.8 camera lens and the Astrodon 50mm square narrowband filter set. I have shot many details with a longer focal length, before 2014 by using Meade 12" scope with reducer and after 2014 Celestron EDGE 11" and reducer. Quider camera has been Lodestar and Lodestar II.

I took my current toolset as a base tool since it has a relatively high resolution combined to a very large field of view. Also it collects photons very quickly since it's undersampled and I can have very dim background nebulosity visible in very short time (many times 30 min frame is enough)

I do all my mosaic work under the PhotoShop, Matching the separate panels by using stars as an indicator is kind of straight forward work. My processing has become so constant, that very little tweaking is needed between separate frames, just some minor levels, curves and color balance.

I have used lots of longer focal length frames in my mosaic to boost details. To match them with shorter focal length shots I developed a new method.

Firstly I upscale the short focal length frames about 25% to have more room for high resolution images.Then I match the high res photo to a mosaic by using the stars as an indicator. After that I remove all the tiny stars from the high res image. Next I separate stars from low res photo and merge the starless high res data to a starless low res frame. And finally I place the removed low res stars back at top of everything with zero data lost. Usually there are some optical distortions and it's seen especially in a star field. Now all my stars are coming from a same optical setup and I don't have any problems with distortions. (I'm using the same star removal technique as in my Tone Mapping Work Flow)

Sunday, February 28, 2021

A new mosaic image from Taurus to Perseus 2009-2021

I have published several large mosaic images in past six months. This time my mosaic project took about 12 years to get finalized.

49 individual panels are covering 36 x 11 degrees of sky, total exposure time is around 250 hours. Native resolution for the mosaic is 31.000 x 8.800 pixels.

There are several rarely seen objects in my mosaic, they are very dim and majority of the 250 hours of exposures was used for them. There are three supernova remnants in the panorama, Simeis 147 at left, Sharpless 224 and Sharpless 221 are located at center of the image. They all are very dim but the Sharpless 221 is the most difficult one, it has an extremely low surface brightness and I think that my photo of Sh2-221 was the first three band color image out of it. Two large emission nebulae at right end of the mosaic must be the dimmest nebulae I have ever shot.

From Taurus to Perseus 2009-2021

Click for a large image, it's worth it!

Image in mapped colors from the light emitted by an ionized elements, hydrogen = green, sulfur = red and oxygen = blue. NOTE, the apparent size of the Moon in a lower left corner.

Frames used for the large mosaic

Click for a large image