In Search of the Nebulae
In my previous article, In search of the Stars, I described the imaging system hardware and software I use for astroimaging. The system includes an Optolong L-eNhance Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Imaging Filter that will enable me to capture many nebulae with amazing detail. I will use this article to catalog my nebula images and to explain how they were captued and processed. Please see the Resources section at the end of this article for a list of references you might like to look at.
North America Nebula (NGC 7000)
NGC 7000 was the first nebula I imaged. I have learned a lot after processing the nebula to this point—after many processing attempts.
The image consists of 37 5-minute light frames plus calibration images (bias, darks, and flats). I processed the images with PixInsight. New territory for me in PixInsight was the use of the ColorMask_mod Script to help me achieve the coloring I wanted.
With respect to saturation, I like to see as much color detail as I can while avoiding an ugly image. This is a personal choice and a less saturated image showing a bit more of the nebula's central detail is probably the universal choice.
Recently, I had an online class with Peter Zelinka. Peter worked with me on processing the North America Nebula. He showed me many features of Photoshop and Raya Pro 6 that can be use to bring out the best in my images.
Click on the nebula for larger images.
My Processing
With Peter Zelinka
The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) will be posted here next. You can see it peeking out of the bottom of the image above.
Resources
- PixInsight For Dummies (Like Me) and Other Video Tutorials by Peter Zelinka ,
- Peter Zelinka's Deep Space Course on howtube,
- PixInsight Image Processing Software,
- Rogelio Bernal Andreo's Mastering PixInsight and Reference Guide,
- Bernd Landmann's Preprocessing of Raw Image Data with PixInsight,
- RC Astro: BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, StarXTerminator,
- Agena Astro: Hardware for Astro Imaging,
- Agena Buyer's Guide to ZWO Astronomy Cameras by Brian Ventrudo and Manish Panjwani,
- High Point Scientific: Telescopes, Cameras, and Other Hardware for Astro Imaging,
- High Point Scientific AstronomyHub: ZWO ASIAIR Ultimate Guide,
- Rouz Astro: Cooler for the ZWO 533MC Color Camera,
- William Optics: Telescopes and Accessories Including RedCat 51 WIFD Manual,
- Manuals for ZWO Products (ASIAIR, AM3, EAF, Cameras),
- In Search of the Stars About my imaging system, both hardware and software,
- The CCD Edge: Introduction to CCD imaging. PDF version,
- CCD Image Processing: M16 Processing CCD images of Messier M16 (NGC 6611), the Eagle Nebula,
- Stellarvue: Fine Telescopes and Accessories,
- Stellarium: A Planetarium for Mobile Phones,
- Cartes du Ciel: My Favorite Computer Skychart ,
- Snagit: PC Screen Capture,
- CoffeeCup: My HTML editor of choice and used for this article.
The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing was written many years ago by Richard Berry and James Burnell. This book is my standby reference to the field of astronomical imaging. Unfortunately, it is no longer in print. The latest release of the book was 2.0. If you do not have this book but can find a used copy—grab it!