The Prawn Nebula in (LsynthHa)(RHa)GB, with DSLR cameras.

[Ignacio]

Hi!

This is my latest production, from last new moon, totalling 3:40 hours (1:40 Ha from previous month + 2:00 OSC). Color data comes from a canon 6D, while Ha data comes from a mono 450D. This is my second attempt (Carina was my first), in combining Ha with color data. I tried to be subtle, and not completely break the color  balance of the image.

It is such an interesting nebula complex in Scorpius, that it may deserve more integration time.  Nonetheless, I like how it turned out. Hope you like it too.

http://www.pampaskies.com/gallery3/Deep-Space-Objects/IC4628_LsynthHaRHaGB

cheers,
Ignacio

[Physicist13]

lovely!! Thanks for sharing that! there is a heck of a lot of structure in that one!!!
Patrick

[kolec]

I like it.

[Ignacio]

Thank you, guys!

Ignacio

[Mark Manner]

Very nice!

[Ignacio]

Thanks, Mark!

Ignacio

[Jason Tackett]

Hi Ignacio,
 
Absolutely wonderful image! Great detail and vivid colors. I’ve run across your webpage several times in the past and am always impressed with your work.
 
Do you have any tutorials that you might point me to that show how you combined the Lsynth + Ha and the R + Ha together? I recently picked up a Baader Ha filter for my DSLR so I will be heading down this same path shortly.

Any information you could please provide would be sincerely appreciated!
 
Best,
Jason

[Ignacio]

Thank you for your kind comments, Jason.

I have very little experience combining Ha and RGB data (have done two images so far). But have tried and experimented with various approaches, including the scripts available in PI (NBRGBCombination and HaRVB-AIP). In both cases (Carina and Prawn), I ended up combining the fully processed non-linear final Ha and RGB images, using for R an expressions of the form:

RHa = R + (Ha - med(Ha))*factor

where the Ha data was apriori linearly scaled to R. I searched for the highest factor that would not clip the data on either end. Similarly, after an CIE Lab decomposition of the new (RHa)GB image, I did

LsynthHa = Lsynth + (Ha-med(Ha))*factor

also prescaling Ha to Lsynth. This approach seems to preserve very well the color and shape of stars, while enhancing the hydrogen areas both in intensity and contrast.

Hope it helps,
Ignacio

[Jason Tackett]

Excellent! Thanks for the details. This will give me plenty to experiment with once I acquire some Ha and RGB data. Much appreciated!

Jason

[Coco]

Awesome and amazing!

Love the star colour..

[Ignacio]

Thank you, Coco, appreciated.

Ignacio