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Orion Nebula in Ha 01/15/2022

Discussion in 'Astrophotography and Imaging' started by Ed D, Jan 16, 2022.

Orion Nebula in Ha 01/15/2022

Started by Ed D on Jan 16, 2022 at 7:00 PM

5 Replies 831 Views 1 Likes

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  1. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Yesterday I imaged The Great Orion Nebula, except I did it a little differently this time. Not only do I live in a Bortle 9 area with neighbors that must have sky high light bills, but the moon was also nearly full and right next to Orion. Yeah, a really bad time and place to image deep sky. However, I used a Lumicon Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) filter that pretty much filters out the moon and most, if not all, of my idiot neighbors' lights.

    I also used my technique of using different exposure lengths and/or ISO values, then stacking them together. In this image I use ISO 800 for all exposures, and times of 17 seconds and 27 seconds for both the light and dark frames. I processed each time set separately and compared the results to the combined image. I could clearly see a subtle increase in image detail.

    In this image I noticed that the Trapezium stars can be made out, even though the gas cloud is large and detailed. In the typical M42 images on line the nebula is so blown out that it looks to me like a huge explosion, very colorful, but.....

    ADDED 1/17/2022: Just for fun I compared this image to the one I posted on January 5th. I compared both the color image and a copy I desaturated (B&W). This Ha image shows much more detail, especially in the gas cloud.

    Anyway, here it is:

    M42 2022 01-15 Ha Resized.jpg


    This is my image data, for anyone interested:

    Subject: M42 & 43 Orion Nebula
    Date: 01/15/2022
    Time: 21:30hr EST
    Location: Miami, Florida 25.61N 80.42W
    Conditions: 9-10/10
    Instrument: TV-85 with ATR8 Flattener/Reducer
    Camera: Canon T3i
    Filter: Lumicon Hydrogen Alpha (Ha)
    Software: Deep Sky Stacker, GIMP, Photo Studio

    Notes:
    - Temperature was a chilly low 60s to mid 50s.
    - Moon was a bright two days before full, next to Orion.
    - Images were taken at ISO 800
    - Images taken as follows:
    17 second lights = 41
    17 second darks = 20
    27 second lights = 40
    27 second darks = 19
    20 bias frames at 1/4000 second
    - All images taken in RAW mode
    - Output image in TIFF, converted to JPEG for posting.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2022
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  2. stepping beyond

    stepping beyond Well-Known Member

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    That's a good run of Ha my friend , faint and outer nebulosity showing . keep looking up.
     
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  3. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

    Ed
     
  4. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    I agree with SB; nice Ha work, Ed. Very mysterious and heavenly.
     
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  5. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Thank you, Reggie.

    I'm happy to be enjoying astronomy and imaging, and to be active on this site again.

    Ed
     
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  6. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Very nice Ed. Especially considering the bright Moon.
     
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