11 replies to this topic

[asanmax]

I pointed the telescope at the Own nebula a couple of hours ago. As expected, it's super tiny in the field of view of a 750mm Quattro.

I'm just hoping it turns out to be something worth spent time on it as I had to skip imaging the Whirlpool or the Pinwheel galaxy tonight.

This is what a single 7-minute exposure looks like, not very promising to say the least 

 

[F.Meiresonne]

It is a difficult target.

For some reason i could not get to it, i mean i tried it with an L-enhance and i got nothing out of it. I still don't understand why. Best shot i ever had was with an unmodded camera in a 102 mm scope, but it remains tiny and blue/greenish

It is still on my wanted list, only i am unsure how to tackle it..;

Would my 'default approach' work on it? That is taking Ha with a mono and then an OSC for the color. I just don't really know...

[asanmax]

It is a difficult target.

For some reason i could not get to it, i mean i tried it with an L-enhance and i got nothing out of it. I still don't understand why. Best shot i ever had was with an unmodded camera in a 102 mm scope, but it remains tiny and blue/greenish

It is still on my wanted list, only i am unsure how to tackle it..;

Would my 'default approach' work on it? That is taking Ha with a mono and then an OSC for the color. I just don't really know...

Honestly, I have no answer. The nebula mostly has OIII lines and some Ha at the edges. Perhaps, you could shoot some H-alpha images using your Ha filter and combine those with your RGB image. That would definitely help with bringing those reds up a bit.

I'll see what I can pull out of my stacked image tomorrow. 

[pyrasanth]

The Owl is a very popular but not easy target to image. This was one of my best images produced a few years back- it's worth a look- even if it gives you something to aim for.

 

M97 needs a lot of time invested and as you have noted image scale as the object is rather small. I bought the nearly 4M C14 focal length into play.

 

You will need to heavily rely on OIII and HA data- there is very little SII if any.

 

Good luck- I look forward to seeing your result. Do put lots of time into the target.

 

Here is my image https://www.astrobin.com/aopgor/

Edited by pyrasanth, 14 May 2023 - 05:39 AM.

[EricTheCat]

One thing you can do is take advantage of the wider view to include the surfboard galaxy nearby.  It won't make the nebula any larger but will give it something to contrast with.

 

Good luck.

[vidrazor]

The Owl is a very popular but not easy target to image. This was one of my best images produced a few years back- it's worth a look- even if it gives you something to aim for.

M97 needs a lot of time invested and as you have noted image scale as the object is rather small. I bought the nearly 4M C14 focal length into play.

You will need to heavily rely on OIII and HA data- there is very little SII if any.

Good luck- I look forward to seeing your result. Do put lots of time into the target.

Here is my image https://www.astrobin.com/aopgor/

Nice shot. Curious, what Bortle and shooting conditions are you grabbing that data in? Things are challenging enough with my C5 and C8 scopes, I can't imagine how you're shooting with a 14 inch monster.
 

[17.5Dob]

It's too late after the fact, but if you'd off centered it a bit, you could have easily captured M108 in the FOV as well. Just as when shooting small galaxies, the more you can capture in a single FOV, the merrier.

[asanmax]

One thing you can do is take advantage of the wider view to include the surfboard galaxy nearby.  It won't make the nebula any larger but will give it something to contrast with.

 

Good luck.

 

It's too late after the fact, but if you'd off centered it a bit, you could have easily captured M108 in the FOV as well. Just as when shooting small galaxies, the more you can capture in a single FOV, the merrier.

Thanks for the suggestions! I totally forgot about that galaxy. It would definitely make a better image.

[asanmax]

Alright, a quick update on the Owl nebula journey.

I was able to collect 3.5 hours of total exposure last  night. I could have collected more but I didn't have an option to sleep in in the morning and had to finish up at around 3am.

A little more details on the setup and data.

Scope: 250P Quattro

Coma corrector: Starizona Nexus 0.75x

Camera: Full Spectrum Nikon D5300

Filter: Optolong L-eNhance

Mount: EQ6-R Pro

30x 7-minute light frames shot at ISO 400.

 

Below is a slightly cropped final processed image

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

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[asanmax]

... and here is a heavily cropped image of the nebula

 

[F.Meiresonne]

That is allready quite impressive! 

[Etoimos]

That turned out really well!