[Intro for the non-astronomers]
This field covers a swath of one of the most interesting parts of the sky. At about 15 full moons wide, it stretches from Orion's sword at right through the Horsehead and Flame nebula at center, with all surrounded by huge swaths of hydrogen gas and dust. A great reminder that our galaxy is not just made of stars!
[Nerdy intro for the astro-folk]
After much agonizing time staring at my screen, I'm done with this mosaic. 2 frames, roughly 15% overlap, then cropped. (Can't imagine how guys like Rogelio do 20-frame mosaics!)
For the RGB, I used a combo of 90 minutes taken from home (new moon, but still badly light polluted) and some old DSLR data from 2 years ago taken under dark skies. Aligning the Ha and RGB was a pain due to this as well as slight field rotation in the Ha. Ha was blended with pseudo-Lum (from the RGB), then blended as Luminance in PS with the RGB. Please forgive the Blue haloes ... my filters are chronically haloed and this is exacerbated by the Ha as it has smaller stars.
Hydrogen-alpha-only version can be found here.
Details:
Hydrogen-alpha = Baader 7.5nm, 8 x 20 min (right panel has an extra 10
x 1 min Ha, layer masked over M42's core)
RGB = 18 x 5 min exposures each
Telescope = Takahashi FSQ-85EDX
Camera = STL-11000M
Mount = EQ6 Pro
Software = capture, stacking and alignment in MaximDL; mosaicking,
levels and cropping in Photoshop
Date = Several nights in October and November 2010
Location = downtown Toronto, Canada
John.R.Taylor, and 129 other people added this photo to their favorites.
View 20 more comments
Alain Brouard 31 months ago | reply
Incredible!
PaulCannon 31 months ago | reply
Despite your feelings that there are problems with this image, it is still stunning and worth every minute you spent on it. It demonstrates the quality of this fabulous camera and telescope and your hard work. I look forward to seeing more.
write_adam 31 months ago | reply
Thanks elios, Vic, Brendan, Alain and Paul! Very kind of you guys.
Heart of the Ocean. 30 months ago | reply
Absolutely stunning.
starrypix 30 months ago | reply
very nice shot, excellent work.
happy new year!
edhiker 30 months ago | reply
Great work and a lot of work!
I just got a Ha filter for Christmas, and you are are making me think about the next steps beyond my first capture at: www.flickr.com/photos/edhiker/5331445852/
Ross Harvey | www.rossharvey.com 28 months ago | reply
Absolutely stunning. Nice one for uploading a decent sized version. Now sitting as desktop :)
BudgetAstro 28 months ago | reply
That is stunning! Excellent work. :)
Mark S Payne 28 months ago | reply
Wow this is amazing, love these mosaic shots.
write_adam 28 months ago | reply
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the kind comments and positive feedback.
katecphtank 27 months ago | reply
I am in awe - not just of the stars - but your ability to capture them! This is just beautiful! Wow! :o)
'Snowden' 26 months ago | reply
Incredibly beautiful.
shadowshador 24 months ago | reply
Awesome.
write_adam 24 months ago | reply
Thanks all! (Sorry for the slow reply to comments, I'm catching up.)
lise45tr 22 months ago | reply
I can't get tired of Orion, and your great photo is just amplifying my passion! Great.
write_adam 22 months ago | reply
Thank you! Have to agree -- Orion is just wondrous.
barryvanede 21 months ago | reply
wonderful, love it !!!
timsides 17 months ago | reply
Went looking for a good pick of Orion's nebula on NASA sites and other astronomy websites, came to flickr last (not like me) and found this gorgeous one. Perfect.
iksose7 11 months ago | reply
Amazing mosaic Adam! A little late here but congrats!
Be Clear 9 months ago | reply
Incredible! Great shot!