|
 |
||
NGC 2024 - The Flame Nebula (imaged from 'Upham', NM) |
|||
 |
 |
||
|
|||
Object Information Imaging Details |
||
The Flame Nebula lies adjacent to Alnitak, the leftmost bright star in Orion belt, and very near the Horsehead nebula. Numerous bright stars hidden within the nebula cause the nebula to glow. The muted Ha color is due to dust. It takes a telescope of at least moderate aperature to see much detail. This image was taken in early January, 2008 from ASLC's 'Upham' dark sky site. Using some sage advice from lunar imager extraordinaire, Tony Gondola, I changed my approach to processing somewhat to "clear the fog". I used a few iterations of the HDRwavelet sharpening to bring out detail. I also stumbled onto a way to get a 3-d feel to the image by the use of a difference layer. I am most pleased with the result. Clicking the above image will bring up a higher resolution image. |
Telescope: |
Celestron NexStar GPS 11" |
Camera: |
Canon 300D (type 1 modified) | |
Filter(s): |
n/a | |
Misc. Optics: |
Giant Easy Guider (f/5) | |
Exposures: |
21 x 3 minutes @ ISO 800 | |
Guiding: |
Through GEG (ToUCam / GuideDog) | |
Processing: |
Images converted to tifs with Photoshop CS3, then aligned and stacked in Nebulosity. Curves/levels adjustments ith Photoshop CS3. Three iterations of HDR Wavelets sharpening were performed with Pixinsight. The sharpened image was layered atop the unsharpened one as a difference channel in Photoshop, and offset slightly. This gave a most pleasing 3-D effect. The merged layers were then blended with the unsharpened image. Levels for each channel adjusted, then Noise Ninja applied to the red and green channels. | |
Enchanted Skies - Astrophotography by Rich Richins (all images copyright, Rich Richins)