Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Autumn season 2013 opened finally!
Last night I was able to open up my imaging season. After six months mandatory summer pause, it's great to be back!
As usually, this first light for the season is more like a test shot. I need to re collimate my optical path and fine tune my gears for optimal image quality.
A closeup of the Butterfly Nebula
First light for the Autumn season 2013
Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
Image in visual spectrum
Orientation
Area of interest is marhed with a white rectangle. More info about this image in HERE.
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
Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.
Optics, Meade LX200 12"
Camera, QHY9
Guiding, Starlight Express active optics unit, SXV-AO, and lodestar guider.
Image Scale, ~0,75 arcseconds/pixel
H-alpha 7x1200s, Binned 1x1 = 3h 20min.
O-III and S-II channels are from an older wide field image HERE.
A single calibrated 20min. H-alpha light frame
Image is calibrated with darks and a bias corrected flats. No other processing but nonlinear stretching.
A single calibrated 20min. H-alpha light frame
Monday, September 23, 2013
Sharpless objects, 223, 224 and 225 in Auriga, reprocessed
I'm waiting the weather to clear, to be able to open up my Autumn season. While waiting, I have practiced my processing skills, after a long Summer pause.
Sh2-223, 224 and 225
In constellation Auriga, click for a large image.
Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
Image in visual spectrum
A closeup of the supernova remnant Sh2-224
Info
Sh2-224: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh2-224
Sh2-225: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh2-225
About the new processing
I have used a new technique to dig out a very dim background nebulae. A starless version of 16h H-a exposure is stretched to an extreme and a data in level of background bias is revealed.
To work, images, used with this technique, has to be perfectly calibrated with bisas corrected flats.
The power of this method can be seen easily, if the new image is compared to an older version HERE.
A data hiding near the background level is revealed in this starless image.
This "tone map" is used to boost an extreme dim background nebulae in the final image.
Technical details
Camera, QHY9
Optics, Canon EF 200mm f1.8 @ 1.8
Guiding, QHY5 and PHD-guiding
Imaging platform, LX200 GPS 12"
Exposures
H-alpha, 7x1200s, 13x2400s and an additional
15x1200s imaged with QHY8 and Tokina AT 300mm f2.8
O-III, 5x300s Binned 4x4
S-II. 5x300s. Binned 4x4 .
A single 1200s H-alpha frame
Calibrated, stretched and scaled down, no other processing
This single 20 min. exposure shows how dim this target really is.
There are very few images about this area of sky around.
There are very few images about this area of sky around.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
A supernova remnant Simeis 147 reprocessed
I'm waiting the weather to clear, to be able to open up my Autumn season. While waiting, I have practiced my processing skills, after a long Summer pause.
Simeis 147 (Sh2-240)
In constellation Taurus
Image is in mapped colors, from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
Total exposure time is now 26h. with fast, Canon EF 200mm f1.8, camera optics.
A closeup
Click for a 1:1 scale
A portion of the Simeis 147 shows massive amount of gas filaments.
Image in visual spectrum
An animated image, stars vs. starless
Click for a large image
I made this experimental animation to show better the actual nebula complex.
Many details are hiding under a very dense star field, like a small out burs at four a clock position.
The human brains has a tendency to form false forms and shapes from a random cloud of dots, in this case, stars. By removing all the stars, the real shapes are easier to see.
Info about the object
Simeis 147 (sharpless 240), is a very faint and very 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 1000km/second.
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 1000km/second.
Answer is ~480 years.
(1% of diameter 160/100= 16, as kilometers ~151.372.800.000.00, = Y, km,
1000km/second is ~315.360.000.00, = Z, kilometers/year.
So, X x Z = Y and X=Z/Y, X = 480 with given values)
(1% of diameter 160/100= 16, as kilometers ~151.372.800.000.00, = Y, km,
1000km/second is ~315.360.000.00, = Z, kilometers/year.
So, X x Z = Y and X=Z/Y, X = 480 with given values)
This image get selected as a Space Picture of the Week by the National Geographic magazine. You can see the story HERE
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
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, ~5,5 arcseconds/pixel
H-alpha 34x900s, Binned 1x1 = 8,5h
H-alpha 24x1800s, Binned 1x1 = 12h
O-III 60 x 300s, Binned 3x3 = 5h
S-II 6 x 600, Binned 3x3 = 1h
Total exposure time for Hydrogen alpha alone is ~20,5h
Total exposure time is 26,5h
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
A collection of images from a large mosaic of Cygnus
I haven't been able to open up this season yet, since some of my equipment are not yet back from the factory service. (Should be here any day now!) To keep up my processing skills, I have reprocessed my older material.
All images are reprocessed and fine tuned. Images are shot wit a Canon EF 200mm f1.8 monster lens.
Image is in mapped colors from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen. Native size of this image is over 15.000 x 10.000 pixels.
A collection of sub-images from the mosaic above
Please, pay attention to a resolution of images bellow. I have used a new processing technique of mine to keep images sharp during the processing routine.
No artificial sharpening methods are used!
NOTE. a large image, 3000 pixels wide and 4MB.
Original blog post of Cygnus mosaic:
This lens is very sharp from edge to edge at full open.
Some parts of the mosaic are boosted with longer focal length instruments, Tokina AT-X 300mm camera lens and the Meade LX200 12" SCT-telescope. QHY9, a cooled astronomical camera, is used with all instruments. All photos are in narrowband colors, from an emission of ionized elements, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulfur. Baader narrowband filter set is used for the emission line imaging with all the instruments.
Cygnus mosaic, reprocessed
Reprocessed, NOTE. a large image 2300 pixels wide and 4.3MB
A collection of sub-images from the mosaic above
Please, pay attention to a resolution of images bellow. I have used a new processing technique of mine to keep images sharp during the processing routine.
No artificial sharpening methods are used!
CIRRUS OF CYGNUS
CRESCENT NEBULA, NGC 6888
THE TULIP NEBULA, SHARPLESS 101
NORTH AMERICA AND THE PELICAN NEBULAE
NORTH AMERICA AND THE PELICAN NEBULAE
THE BUTTERFLY NEBULA
A Chinese Dragon
The overall shape of the nebula complex looks like a dragon!
A large photographic print at my home
A framed copy of the Cygnus Nebulae, my wife, Anna, as a scale.
Links
A reprocessed mosaic in visual colors:
Tools used for this image:
My portfolio:
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