JerryWise
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/03
Posts: 9284
Loc: Lexington, SC
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Seeing what I cannot see through the EP is the main reason I became so interested in Astrophotography. Getting caught up in processing for beauty (well, trying for it) has been a lot of fun but tonight I went back over a Fit file from the Feb 19th. It's the Horsehead region through the TMB 130SS. 20 exposures, 3 mins. ISO 800, 20 darks with a Canon 20Da.
Instead of going for pizazz, I went for information. I took the Fit out of IP, converted it to a Tif and just did curves on the image. I saw a similar technique in a book on Zones for Astrophotography (forget the name). This is three iterations of curves and one raising the Levels to take out a little background. No tinkering with the colors or going for red in the Horsehead, just raw stepping up as the Canon recorded it. It was too clean on the black in the end so I upped the brightness by 10 to get a background of 15-20.
Seeing Alnitak as a double, the brown dust band around the Horsehead overlaying the blue nebulosity below it and a number of very small doubles just tickled me pink. In the nebulosity at lower right you can make out the central star as a triple star when magnifying the Tif file. I googled "Horsehead Flame Region" and looked at posted images. This one doesn't hold a candle to anything out there but the detail is very satisfying to my personal goals. I'd like to get a scope that would show this through the EP.
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JerryWise
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/03
Posts: 9284
Loc: Lexington, SC
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A few insets from the Tif file.
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Max leiva
sage
Reged: 10/29/04
Posts: 233
Loc: Luxembourg
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Excellent work Jerry!
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Max Leiva
A-P 900GTO
FSQ-106ED
STL-11000M
Questar 3.5
12" LX-200GPS
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s58y
Postmaster
Reged: 12/12/04
Posts: 6505
Loc: Eastern NY
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Very natural-looking HH shot -- there's a lot of detail in the blue reflection nebula down below the HH.
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Hutech 500D/T1i, 550D/T2i, DMK21AU618, SBIG ST-402 autoguider
SV80S, TV102iis, EdgeHD 800
Lenses: 800mm, 180mm, 135mm, 105mm, 85mm
AP900, Barndoor tracker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/s58y/
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kestrel0222
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/21/06
Posts: 2339
Loc: Milford, Michigan
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Awesome work!!!!!
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Tom
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LLEEGE
True Blue
Reged: 03/03/05
Posts: 12767
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Very nice indeed.
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A wise man once said........nothing.
A good mount
A few good OTA's
A few good EP's
A decent camera
Crappy skies
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Dubboy
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/05/05
Posts: 2398
Loc: Western Kentucky
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Really nice!!
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Don
"Don't worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky and enjoy God's wondrous universe" Thomas Back.
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wrather1
AstroBear
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 4489
Loc: Dallas, Texas
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Jerry,
I just love the details in that shot. Maybe sometimes "simpler is better" - I have seen plenty examples of over-processed pictures.
Very nice work. I'm envious!
Dave W.
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"And there, within the black inviting vacuum, shine the beacon jewels and diamond dusts of future passed." - D. L. Lundelius
Meade RCX400-12 "Ursa Major"
TMB 130SS + EQ6-PRO "Ursus Polaris"
Orion ED80 "Ursa Minor", WO ZS66ED "grab-'n'-go"
Canon EOS 60Da, Philips ToUcam Pro, Orion StarShoot Autoguider
North Texas Clear Sky Chart
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JerryWise
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/03
Posts: 9284
Loc: Lexington, SC
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Wow, thanks folks. It sure looks flat compared to those on the net but it does tell a story.
I think what gets me is that Brown cloud that forms the Horsehead. Seeing it come up from below like that I have never seen before.
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Rusty
Postmaster
Reged: 08/06/03
Posts: 19246
Loc: Brooker, FL
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Great job - it looks flat because it's supposed to IMO - I've only seen one other taken with a DSLR (a 300D) that looked as "pure".
I thought there was a "notch" out of the original in the blue inset, but then I realized it was the head of a black arrow... 
Quote:
I'd like to get a scope that would show this through the EP.
Well, there's this...or this.
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cvedeler
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/20/05
Posts: 2203
Loc: Scottsdale, AZ
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Impressive! Congratulations!
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Chris Vedeler
Astro-Physics 160EDF
Astro-Physics 900GTO
Q453HR / QHY8 CCD camera
Canon 450XSi
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www.aznightsky.com
Scottsdale, AZ
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