I’m usually collecting data while processing a few projects. Here are some I’m working on currently. These are not finished, I’m still editing/collecting data.
Can you name all the targets?
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In the Orion image(s) I can see several familiar objects including the Running Man Nebula. The others, duh, I dunno. 
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As always very very nice.
Thanks…
Stan
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Horsehead Nebula, Flame Nebula, Running Man, and Orion nebula in the last 3. The first two kinda look like the Veil, but I don’t think they are.
Can’t wait to see the finished images!
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The California Nebula in HOO and SHO
Three-panel mosaic from Horshead to Orion in HOO and SHO
Three Panel mosaic from M78 over past the boogie man dark nebula.
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The details in the dust of the Orion mosaic are mesmerizing. I believe I’ve seen you’re shooting that with the Esprit 100 with reducer-- how many hours per filter are you at in these images?
Also, I imagine you have RGB data with all that detail in the dark areas. If so, do you do OSC or RGB filters with a mono camera? Thanks!
Yeah, I’ve had the Esprit 100ED since about 2017 or so? I got a .79 reducer from Europe a few years ago that reduced it to about 446mm focal length and F4.4. It took me a while to get the backspacing dialed it, but I finally have it working well. The faster F stop really helps with narrowband imaging.
How many hours? I’m not sure off the top of my head. I’ve finished collecting data on the California and 3-panel of horsehead to Orion. I will count up all subs and I include that in the description of the final image I upload to my Flickr page.
RGB data: Well, I can create RGB with the narrow band channels. Ha is red and Oxygen is green and blue. I can’t really get good RGB from the city, so I’ll add RGB if I can get out to a dark site. I have both mono and one-shot color cameras. I primarily use my 2600 mono. My 2600 color cam is the second rig I run at dark sites.
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That’s a pretty fast scope! Understandable that it took a while to get the backspacing down. I hear that RASA F2.0 telescopes are super painful to get dialed in for that reason. Looking forward to your final Orion image. Your recent Orion’s Belt mosaic was beautiful, but it’s hard to beat the Great Orion Nebula.
So about the RGB and the detail in the darker dust-- is most of the dust detail coming through from your Ha data then?
I figured that the dust towards the bottom of the frame (relatively far from Orion Nebula and IC 434/Horsehead) wouldn’t have nearly so much excited hydrogen. And that it would be lit more like a dim reflection nebula, or even IFN, requiring some more broadband imaging. I guess I should consider that there are stars exciting the gas down there too, just not clusters like what we see in the Great Orion nebula.
Astronomy is so cool, so much to learn.
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Yeah, dust and LDNs (dark nebulae) can be “lit up” by Ha, Sii, and Oiii. Especially all those that are in and around the Orion Molecular Complex. There is background Ha glowing everywhere in this area that dimly lights things up. But for example in Cepheus, all that dust is lit up by normal rgb light, so that’s why we image it from Okie-Tex, etc, and not from the city with a narrow band.
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Good to know! Thanks for sharing your photos and your knowledge.
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Beautiful pictures. I enjoyed the discussion also. I’m having trouble with back focus rerigging my old C8.
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