Friday, November 18, 2011
Butterfly to Crescent, a new Cygnus project started
A two panel mosaic from the Hydrogen alpha emission.
NOTE. the "Noise" in the background is not a noise but a countless amount of stars!
NOTE. the "Noise" in the background is not a noise but a countless amount of stars!
Last night I was able to shoot two panels in H-a for a new imaging project from Cygnus. At upper left the Butterfly nebula and in middle, the Crescent Nebula.
Clouds rolled in before I was able to shoot any other channels, so colors will follow later.
Canon EF 200 mm at f1.8 is an extreme fast lens to collect photons, only one hour of ten minute subs per panel was needed for good signal to noise.
A closeup to show the resolution.
A gray scale two panel mosaic with my previous project.
I just noticed, that this new panorama and my previous project, Cirrus of Cygnus, are overlapping!
I hadn't purpose to build a large mosaic but since they are overlapping, in some parts, I will make one.
QHY9 camera is a very good match with wider field camera lenses due the smallish, 5,4 microns, pixel size.
Nowadays I', processing all under sampled images, like one above, up-scaled 200% to maintain the smallest possible details. It needs a lots of memory and the processing gpower though! A single, up-scaled gray scale FIT-format, image will take about 500 meg to handle (32bit floating point), usually there are more than a dozen of them...
A gray scale two panel mosaic with my previous project.
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 40% weight
Levels, curves and color combine in PS CS3.
Optics, Canon EF 200mm camera lens at f1.8
Camera, QHY9
Image Scale, ~5 arcseconds/pixel
Guiding, Meade LX200 GPS 12" and a Lodestar guider
Filter, Baader 7nm H-alpha
Exposures for two panels,
Panel 1, 6x600s Binned 1x1
Panel 2, 6x600s Binned 1x1
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Cirrus of Cygnus as a stereo pair 3D
Parallel vision 3D
Other 3D-formats:
Original 2D:
NOTE! This is a personal vision about forms and shapes, based on some known facts and an artistic impression.
Cirrus of Cygnus as an anaglyph Red/Cyan 3d
3D-NOTE!
You'll need Red/Cyan Eyeglasses to be able to see images as 3D.If you have a Red and Blue filters, you can use them! Red goes to Left eye.
Other 3D-formats:
Original 2D:
NOTE! This is a personal vision about forms and shapes, based on some known facts and an artistic impression.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
NGC 7000, North America & Pelican Nebulae
North America and Pelican Nebulae area
in constellation Cygnus
Wide field image in HST-palette, from the emission of ionized elements,
R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen. Note, the "noise" in background is not a noise but countless stars!
A cropped closeup to show the resolution. After countless tweaks, stars are now pinpoints from edge to edge, this lens is very sharp full open at f1.8 but focusing is more than difficult... the critrical focus zone is about 7 microns, 7/1000mm!
Canon EF 200mm f1.8 is a monster lens (fastest tele lens in the world). Total exposure time for all channels is just 4h 30min for this relative deep narrow band image, shot under a heavy light pollution.
As can be seen from the image, North America and Pelican Nebulae are actually a single emission area, divided visually to two parts by a dark nebula at front.
I have shot a narrower wide field shot from lower part of this formation, earlier in this Autumn, with a Tokina AT-X 300mm f2.8 camera lens, it can be seen HERE. Area is from just bellow the North America Nebula.
Image in Natural color palette from the emission of ionized elements,
R=Hydrogen + Sulfur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + Hydrogen.
This palette is very close to a visual spectrum.
An animated image, with and without stars
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 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
H-alpha 15x600s, Binned 1x1
O-III 6x600s, Binned 1x1
S-II 6x600s, Binned 1x1
Ps.
There is a tiny nebula in lower Right crner, near the "Pelican's head", if somebody knows, what it is, please leave a comment here.
It emits strongest at H-a but there are O-III and S-II bands visible too.
Update.
A friendly Blog follower just posted a comment about this nebula.
It's an emission nebula designated as a GN 20.43.9, thank you.
There is a tiny nebula in lower Right crner, near the "Pelican's head", if somebody knows, what it is, please leave a comment here.
Update.
A friendly Blog follower just posted a comment about this nebula.
It's an emission nebula designated as a GN 20.43.9, thank you.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Cirrus of Cygnus, project finalized
Cirrus like gas filaments
in constellation Cygnus
HST-palette, from the emission of ionized elements,
R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
A series of closeups to show the resolution, not a bad one for a 200mm camera lens...
An animated image to show some interesting structures under the star field.
Version in colors of visual spectrum
Image in Natural color palette from the emission of ionized elements,
R=Hydrogen + Sulfur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + Hydrogen.
This palette is very close to a visual spectrum.
Last night I was able to finalize a three panel mosaic from Cirrus of Cygnus. I have planned to shoot this formation a long time, finally there, yahoo...
There are very few images around showing this area, it can be seen in many wide field images though but I haven't seen any images focusing to just it. This area can be seen in this APOD image Left, at about ten a clock position. This is not a bright target but by using an extremely fast, 200mm f1.8, optics a total exposure time for all three panels was very reasonable, ~7 hours.
The bright, magnitude 2.9, star at middle Left is the BSC 18 Del Cyg (HR7528). This image spans about 12 degrees horizontally (24 full Moons side by side) and it's part of large nebula complex around constellation Cygnus. "Northern Cross" nebulosities are located at distance of about 2000 light years. At lower mid Left lays the "Propeller Nebula", I shot a little narrower wide field image of it in this Autumn, it can be seen HERE.
It does look like a Cirrus cloud!
Technical details:
Processing work flow:
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Levels, curves, color combine and mosaic 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
Filter, Baader 7nm H-alpha
Panel 1, 8x900s Binned 1x1
Panel 2, 4x900s Binned 1x1
Panel 3, 5x 900s Binned 1x1
Filter, Baader 8nm S-II
Panel 1, 6x300s Binned 3x3
Panel 2, 6x300s Binned 3x3
Panel 3, 6x300s Binned 3x3
Filter Baader 8,5nm O-III (I need a narrower one...)
Panel 1, 6x300s Binned 3x3
Panel 2, 6x300s Binned 3x3
Panel 3, 6x300s Binned 3x3
Ps.
A vertical composition
Sunday, November 13, 2011
IC405 & 410 as a stereo pair 3D
Parallel vision 3D
Cross vision 3D
Other 3D-formats:
Original 2D:
NOTE! This is a personal vision about forms and shapes, based on some known facts and an artistic impression.
IC405 & 410 as an anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D
3D-NOTE!
You'll need Red/Cyan Eyeglasses to be able to see images as 3D.If you have a Red and Blue filters, you can use them! Red goes to Left eye.
Other 3D-formats:
Original 2D:
NOTE! This is a personal vision about forms and shapes, based on some known facts and an artistic impression.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Cirrus of Cygnus, start of the new project
A Hydrogen alpha filtered monochrome image of thin, cirrus like, filaments from an edge of large emission area in constellation Cygnus.
I have started a new imaging project. This time I will shoot a three panel panoramic mosaic since I like to show a whole network of thin filaments at edge of Cygnus emission nebula. This image spans about 12 degrees horizontally... that's 24 full Moons side by side. I will shoot all three emission channels for this, when ever my local weather let me do so...
The "Propeller Nebula" can be seen at bottom center Left. HERE is an image of it from this Autumn and colors of it will give a hint, how this new image going to look when ready.
The "Propeller Nebula" can be seen at bottom center Left. HERE is an image of it from this Autumn and colors of it will give a hint, how this new image going to look when ready.
An experimental starless version
Same image with suppressed stars to show the actual nebula complex better.
It's funny to see, how much more details can be seen in nebula by this way, even though stars in original image are absolute pinpoints.
A starless closeup reveals some details
Very odd looking loops in filaments... One at lower Left looks like a lasso.
It's funny to see, how much more details can be seen in nebula by this way, even though stars in original image are absolute pinpoints.
A starless closeup reveals some details
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 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
Filter, Baader 7nm H-alpha
Exposures for three panels, from Left to Right
Panel 1, 8x900s Binned 1x1
Panel 2, 4x900s Binned 1x1
Panel 3, 5x 900s Binned 1x1
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
IC405 & 410
IC 405 & 410
In constellation Auriga
HST-palette, from the emission of ionized elements,
R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
An experimental starless version to show the actual nebula
An experimental starless version to show the actual nebula
A clear night at last!
I shot about three hours of H-alpaha light for IC405 & 410, after finalizing H-a for my new project , "Cirrus of Cygnus". (It will be a three panel narrow band mosaic about dimmer outer structures of Cygnus Nebula complex.)
Little by little I have managed to reduce tilt between my CCD and the Cnon EF 200mm f1.8 lens.
At f1.8, every single micron makes a big difference. Working with an extreme fast lens, like this, is very demanding. Tolerances are very small, the critical focus zone is only 7microns, that's 7/1000mm!
Little by little I have managed to reduce tilt between my CCD and the Cnon EF 200mm f1.8 lens.
At f1.8, every single micron makes a big difference. Working with an extreme fast lens, like this, is very demanding. Tolerances are very small, the critical focus zone is only 7microns, that's 7/1000mm!
Other channels, O-III and S-II are taken from an older image from year 2008. Star colors are borrowed from an RGB-image, shot at 2007.
R=Hydrogen + Sulfur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + Hydrogen.
An animated image to show the nebula with and without stars.
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 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
New exposures H-alpha 13x900s,
S-II and O-III information are from an older image
Monday, October 31, 2011
Veil Nebula as a Stereo pair 3D-study
Other 3D-formats:
Original 2D:
NOTE! This is a personal vision about forms and shapes, based on some known facts and an artistic impression.
Veil Nebula as an anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D
3D-NOTE!
You'll need Red/Cyan Eyeglasses to be able to see images as 3D.If you have a Red and Blue filters, you can use them! Red goes to Left eye.
Original 2D:
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant
Veil Nebula
Supernova remnant in constellation Cygnus
Note. Image is updated at 27.03.2012 with a new data, it was buried in my hard disk.
R=Hydrogen + Sulfur, G=Oxygen and B=Oxygen + Hydrogen.
Image is not as deep as I wanted but the weather has been working against me for a long time now...
Veil Nebula is a cloud of ionized gas and dust, leftovers from an exploded star. The star exploded some 5000-8000 years ago at distance of about 1470 light years. This, relatively faint target, is difficult to image due the large angular diameter, about three degrees, and a dense star field.
This is a second version of this object, older version can be seen Here. I have made a 3D-animation about the possible shape of this SNR, it can be seen Here.
HST-palette, from the emission of ionized elements,
R=Sulfur, G=Hydrogen and B=Oxygen.
1:1 cropped image to show the resolution.
Not a bad one for the 200mm camera lens...
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 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
New exposures H-alpha 13x1200s,
S-II and O-III information are from an older image
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