M101 Pinwheel Galaxy in merged RGB, Ha and Near IR (NIR) 742nm data.
Around 14 hours of data collected in total.
Processing was a challenge due to the amount of different data, fuzziness of the arms and strong parts in the arms, amount of different colors, and so on. Really had to kind of force myself to stop at a certain point because each time I over-processed it
Made the choice to process it in a such a way that the red Ha data isn't too dominant but still obvious.
The NIR didn't add any structural data but it did let "see" some strong(er) stars.
Bortle 6/7
Meade LX200 8" f/10 ACF OTA
Ioptron CEM25EC mount (no guiding)
Baader Neodymium Skyglow filter
Baader IR/UV Cut filter
Optolong L-eXtreme filter
Astronomik ProPlanet IR-Pass 742nm filter
Zwo ASI071MC Pro camera
Captured with SharpCap Pro @ -10 Celsius / White balance R50 B50
Baader IR/UV Cut: 30 x 300sec / Gain 90 / Offset 4
Baader Neodymium Skyglow: 40 x 300sec / Gain 90 / Offset 4
Optolong L-eXtreme: 24 x 600sec / Gain 200 / Offset 10
Astronomik ProPlanet IR-Pass 742nm: 22 x 300sec / Gain 200 / Offset 10
Per set: 20 x darks, 50 x flats and 50 x darkflats
Stacked with DeepSkyStacker
Each set separately
Processed with Siril and Photoshop
Siril: every set Background Extraction and Histogram
Photoshop: merged data from Ha and NIR 70/30 and then merged that in the red channel of the broadband data.
Curves, Levels, Camera Raw Filter (brightness, blacks, white balance, shadows, color saturation, clarity, noise reduction)
M101: all RGB/Ha/Near IR combined
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Please upload large images to photo sharing sites (flickr, etc) rather than trying to upload them as forum attachments.
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Please upload large images to photo sharing sites (flickr, etc) rather than trying to upload them as forum attachments.
Please share the equipment used and if possible camera settings to help others.
Re: M101: all RGB/Ha/Near IR combined
Wow! A gorgeous image.
Great result.
Great result.
Celestron EdgeHD 8, reducer 0.7x, Star Sense, CGX-L mount, Focuser, CPWI; Starlight Xpress AO, OAG and Filter Wheel; ZWO 294MC/294MM Pro and 174MM mini; SharpCap Pro, PHD2, Televue Powermate 2x, Baader Neodymium, Astronomik CLS-CCD, ZWO UV/IR, Duo filters
Re: M101: all RGB/Ha/Near IR combined
Thanks Chris!
Menno
Menno
Re: M101: all RGB/Ha/Near IR combined
nice image Menno - skillful processing there and stretched just enough. Tim