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Monday, February 4, 2013

3D-study of the Rosette Nebula


This is an experimental test with a 3D-conversion of my astronomical images. Only real elements from my image are used, there is nothing added but the volumetric information!

NOTE. This is a personal vision about shapes and volumes, based on some scientific data and an artistic impression.


Rosette Nebula 3D-model I




Original 2D-image of the Rosetta Nebula
More images and technical details can be seen in this blog post:
http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/12/caldwell-49-rosette-nebula-reprocessed.html



Rosette Nebula 3D-model II



Info about the technique used


Due to huge distances, real parallax can't be imaged in most of the astronomical objects.
I have developed an experimental technique to convert my astropics to a artificial volumetric models.

My 3-D experiments are a mixture of science and an artistic impression. I collect distance and other information before I do my 3-D conversion. Usually there are known stars, coursing the ionization, so I can place them at right relative distance. If I know a distance to the nebula, I can fine tune distances of the stars so, that right amount of stars are front and behind of the object.

I use a “rule of thumb” method for stars: brighter is closer, but if a real distance is known, I'm using that. Many 3-D shapes can be figured out just by looking carefully the structures in nebula, such as dark nebulae must be at front of the emission nebulae in order to show up etc...

The general structure of many star forming regions is very same, there is a group of  young stars, as an open cluster inside of the nebula. The stellar wind from the stars is then blowing the gas away around the cluster and forming a kind of cavitation – or a hole — around it. The pillar-like formations in the nebula must point to a source of stellar wind, for the same reason.

How accurate the final model is, depends how much I have known and guessed right. The motivation to make those 3-D-studies is just to show, that objects in the images are not like paintings on the canvas but really three dimensional objects floating in the three dimensional space. This generally adds a new dimension to my hobby as an astronomical imager. (Pun intended)






A 3D-study of the Simeis 147 supernova remnant



This is an experimental test with a 3D-conversion of my astronomical images. Only real elements from my image are used, there is nothing added but the volumetric information!

NOTE. This is a personal vision about shapes and volumes, based on some scientific data and an artistic impression.


Simeis 147 3D-model as a"fast fly trough"




Original 2D-image of Simeis 147

More images and technical details can be seen in this blog post:
http://astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2012/02/siemis-147-new-data-added.html



Simeis 147 3D-model as a looped rotation



Info about the technique used


Due to huge distances, real parallax can't be imaged in most of the astronomical objects.
I have developed an experimental technique to convert my astropics to a artificial volumetric models.

My 3-D experiments are a mixture of science and an artistic impression. I collect distance and other information before I do my 3-D conversion. Usually there are known stars, coursing the ionization, so I can place them at right relative distance. If I know a distance to the nebula, I can fine tune distances of the stars so, that right amount of stars are front and behind of the object.

I use a “rule of thumb” method for stars: brighter is closer, but if a real distance is known, I'm using that. Many 3-D shapes can be figured out just by looking carefully the structures in nebula, such as dark nebulae must be at front of the emission nebulae in order to show up etc...

The general structure of many star forming regions is very same, there is a group of  young stars, as an open cluster inside of the nebula. The stellar wind from the stars is then blowing the gas away around the cluster and forming a kind of cavitation – or a hole — around it. The pillar-like formations in the nebula must point to a source of stellar wind, for the same reason.

How accurate the final model is, depends how much I have known and guessed right. The motivation to make those 3-D-studies is just to show, that objects in the images are not like paintings on the canvas but really three dimensional objects floating in the three dimensional space. This generally adds a new dimension to my hobby as an astronomical imager. (Pun intended)






Wednesday, January 30, 2013

A 3D-study of the Pac-Man Nebula, NGC 281



This is an experimental test with a 3D-conversion of my astronomical images. I have published some animated GIF files, this time I have done a short movie out of the model. Even though this is just a looped tip tilt movie, I'm able to do any movements with this kind of model. 

Only real elements from my image are used, there is nothing added but the volumetric information!
NOTE. This is a personal vision about shapes and volumes, based on some scientific data and an artistic impression.

A 3D study of NGC 281


Movie is in natural colors

In YouTube you can see this image at a full screen and resolution:
(Click the gear symbol to select 720p )


Info about the technique used

My 3-D experiments are a mixture of science and an artistic impression. I collect distance and other information before I do my 3-D conversion. Usually there are known stars, coursing the ionization, so I can place them at right relative distance. If I know a distance to the nebula, I can fine tune distances of the stars so, that right amount of stars are front and behind of the object.

I use a “rule of thumb” method for stars: brighter is closer, but if a real distance is known, I'm using that. Many 3-D shapes can be figured out just by looking carefully the structures in nebula, such as dark nebulae must be at front of the emission nebulae in order to show up etc...

The general structure of many star forming regions is very same, there is a group of  young stars, as an open cluster inside of the nebula. The stellar wind from the stars is then blowing the gas away around the cluster and forming a kind of cavitation – or a hole — around it. The pillar-like formations in the nebula must point to a source of stellar wind, for the same reason.

How accurate the final model is, depends how much I have known and guessed right. The motivation to make those 3-D-studies is just to show, that objects in the images are not like paintings on the canvas but really three dimensional objects floating in the three dimensional space. This generally adds a new dimension to my hobby as an astronomical imager. (Pun intended)


Original 2D-image
Only elements form this image are used for the animation above



A blog post about this new image of mine can be seen here:



NGC 281, the Pac-Man Nebula



A new image from the last week, NGC 281, I spend four nights imaging but the bad seeing and some thin upper clouds ruined majority of my frames. I managed to get enough exposures for two images, the Soul Nebula detail and this shot of Pac-Man Nebula.


NGC 281, in Cassiopeia
Ra 00h 52m 59.3s Dec +56° 37′ 19″

Image is in mapped colors from the emission of ionized elements, R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
Star colors are shot with a QHY8 color camera, Tokina 300mm f2.8 optics and the Baader UHCs filter.
The open cluster  IC 1590 can be seen at middle of the image.

Buy a photographic print from HERE

Image is taken at 21. Jan. and there are 23x20min H-alpha light collected for it, color data is borrowed from my older image of the NGC 281. This is the third time for my tandem camera system, Star and natural color of the nebula are shot at the same time, as the closeup image, with the QHY8 color camera and the Baader UHCs-filter. This filter delivers real colors for the stars, even though it's kind of narrowband filter.


INFO

NGC 281 is an H II region in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It includes the open cluster IC 1590 and several Bok globules (dark doo-dads at center of the Blue area). NGC 281 is also known as the Pac-Man Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character from early 80's.
NGC281 spans over 80 light years at its estimated distance of 9500 light years.


An experimental 3D study of NGC 281

This is a link to a 3D-movie, please, have a look:


NGC 281 in visual colors

Image is in visual spectrum and dominated by the red light emitted by ionized Hydrogen, H-alpha. Blueish hues are from ionized Oxygen, O-III. Colors are shot simultaneously with H-a emission by using QHY8 color camera, Tokina AT-X 300mm f2.8 camera lens and Baader UHCs-filter.

Buy a photographic print from HERE

A study about the shapes

Lines in the image are showing, how the pillar-like formations are all pointing to the source of solar wind and ionization, the open cluster  IC 1590, inside the Pack_man Nebula.

There are some denser material at tip of the pillar like formations and it's able to resist the radiation pressure from the open cluster IC 1590, at the middle of the nebula. Typically those tips are future homes for newly born stars, as well as dark globules seen in the image. The same open cluster is coursing  the ionization in Pac-Man Nebula by its radiation. each ionized element in the nebula emits light at the typical wave length.


Technical details:

Processing work flow:
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.

Optics, Meade LX200 GPS 12" @ f5
Camera, QHY9
Guiding, SXV-AO, an active optics unit, and Lodestar guide camera 12Hz
Image Scale, ~0,8 arc-seconds/pixel
24 x 1200s exposures for the H-alpha, emission of ionized Hydrogen = 8h

Optics and exposures used for colors

Tokina AT-X 300mm at f2.8
QHY8, a cooled single shot color camera
Baader UHC-s filter
Baader IR-cut filter
16x900s = 4h
Color channels for a mapped-palette image, O-III and S-II, are from an older image of mine.


A single unprocessed 1200 second frame of H-a emission

A single 20 min. frame, just calibrated and stretched. Imaged with the QHY9 camera, Baader 7nm H-alpha filter and Meade LX200 12" telescope.