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Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Flash from the past, Cederblad 214, the Cosmic Question mark, reprocessed



The new imaging season will start at 5. of September up here 65N. I have been practising my data processing skills by reprocessing some of my older image data. This time the Cederblad 214 got a new processing. Not a big difference to original processing, little better colors and the detail level is somehow higher.


Cederblad 214, the Cosmic Question Mark
Click for a much large image

Image in mapped colors from ionized elements, Red=Sulfur, Green=Hydrogen & Blue=Oxygen. Image was taken with the Canon camera optics, EF 200mm f.8 full open, QHY9 astrocamera and the Baader narrowband filters. The original blog post from 2012, with technical details, can be seen HERE


A detail

A detail shot from the bright central region of the image at the top.  This photo was taken with my new setup, Celestron Edge HD 1100 f7, Apogee Alta U16 astrocamera and the Astrodon narrowband filters, Spring 2014. The original blog post from 2012, with technical details, can be seen HERE

INFO
Source: NASA APOD

Towering pillars of cold gas and dark dust adorn the center star forming region of Sharpless 171. An open cluster of stars is forming there from the gas in cold molecular clouds. As energetic light emitted by young massive stars boils away the opaque dust, the region fragments and picturesque pillars of the remnant gas and dust form and slowly evaporate. The energetic light also illuminates the surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to glow as an emission nebula. Pictured above is the active central region of the Sharpless 171 greater emission nebula. Sharpless 171 incorporates NGC 7822 and the active region Cederblad 214, much of which is imaged above. The area above spans about 20 light years, lies about 3,000 light years away, and can be seen with a telescope toward the northern constellation of the King of Ethiopia (Cepheus).






Saturday, August 27, 2016

Cinemascope format panoramas from my astro photos



While waiting to image season to start up here, I have worked with a cinemascope format movie theatre presentation from my photos. This is an extra wide ~21:9 format used in movie theaters. The actual film is not ready yet but I have some of my images converted to this ultra wide format. I think they will look great at a large movie screen! I'll publish some of individual panoramic format photos here, images are downscaled for the web.


Cinemascope format image of the Sharpless 114 (Sh2-114)
The Flying Dragon Nebula, in eastern Cygnus, be sure to click for a full resolution version!


Natural color composition from the emission of ionized elements. 
More info and the technical details about my photo can be found from HERE

INFO

Sh2-114 is a complex and unusual HII emission nebula. Its complex, wispy structure is likely the result of winds from hot, massive stars interacting with the magnetic fields in the interstellar medium. But very little is known about it. (Source, https://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im1112.html)






Monday, August 22, 2016

Pickering's Triangle reprocessed




This shot about the Pickering's Triangle was my opening image for the Autumn season 2015.
It was also selected for a Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) by the NASA. 

I'm waiting to new imaging season to start. To practise my astronomical image processing skills, I have reprocessed the whole dataset, about 20 hours of exposures. 


Pickering's Triangle
Be sure to click for a large image!

The final photo has now better details and little bit more vivid colors. You can see the previous version in the original blog post HEREColors are from the ionized elements, Hydrogen, Sulfur and Oxygen. S-II = Red, H-alpha = Green and O-III = Blue. 


A closeup
Be sure to click for a large image!




An experimental starless version
Be sure to click for a large image!

Details in this complex supernova remnant are easier to see when the stars are suppressed.  It looks kind of spooky too.

The whole two frame mosaic in cinemascope format
Be sure to click for a large image!




A wide field photo shows the whole Veil Nebula supernova remnant

The Pickering's Triangle can be see at one o'clock position.
My blog post about the wide field shot can be seen HERE.


Technical details

Processing work flow

Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 33% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.

Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope

Mount
10-micron 1000

Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2 and SXV-AOL

Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Astrodon filter, 3nm S-II

Exposure times
H-alpha, 15 x 1200s = 5h
O-III, 36 x 1200s binned = 12h (Autumn 2014)
S-II,  from my older wide field photo of the Veil Nebula = 3h 
Total 20h




Astro anarchy gets published, Large print of the central Cygnus


This large 100 x 400 cm (3.3 x 13.2 feets) print out of  my photo of the Cygnus is located in Creative Laboratory (Luova Laboratorio) Oulu, Finland.

A large print
Please, click for a full size photo

Image is printed on canvas with an aluminium frame. The size is 100 x 400 cm (3.3 x 13.2 feets) 
This is a very high resolution mosaic image and it can be printed even much larger scale without losing any sharpness. The printed photo is actually a part from a large mosaic picture of constellation Cygnus. The whole 18-panels mosaic can be seen HERE 



Older large public artworks out of my photos


Path of Swans, Svenska Private School, Oulu, Finland, 2014

Print on aluminium, 360 x 160 (142 x 63 inch) More info HERE



Cirrus of Cygnus,  The "Oulu Region Joint Authority for Education" in Haukipudas, 2014

Print on aluminium, over 3 x 10 meters (10 x 33 feets) More info HERE