Veil Nebula - Sony A7S on Tak Epsilon

[MarkS]

Veil Nebula from Friday night.

2 hours integration time in 60x2min subs.  Modified Sony A7S on Tak Epsilon 180ED with Baader IR/UV filter.



I was pleased to begin to resolve the dust to the right of the Witches Broom and above Pickering's Triangle because it is rarely seen in most images.  However, as usual,  I'm sure this data could be processed much better by someone who knows what they're doing!

Larger version here:
http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/2015/veil20150821.jpg

Mark

[JohnP]

Wow.. that's a lot of stars... The dust on right looks weird - cause its such a sharp transition down right hand side almost looks like a gradient/ light leakage..amazing that you got it though - not seen it before. Image also a 'tad' soft for me - did you apply any sharpening? Lovely wide field though.

John

[Carole]

I am amazed that you managed to get all that in the FOV with the Tak Epsilon.  I thought it was going to be a camera lens image when i first saw it.

I agree with John regarding the right sided gradient and the softness, but still an excellent image.

Carole

[The Thing]

Woowee. That is really nice. Looks like your coping with Sony's star eating tendencies, there are so many! I want some good optics :{ the detail in the structures and the faint wispy bits of dust and Ha are amazing to behold. The Witches Broom is almost 3D.

[MarkS]

Thanks for all your comments.  A few comments on your comments:

Wow.. that's a lot of stars... The dust on right looks weird - cause its such a sharp transition down right hand side almost looks like a gradient/ light leakage..amazing that you got it though - not seen it before. Image also a 'tad' soft for me - did you apply any sharpening? Lovely wide field though.

The sharp transition is genuine but not many images show it - here's an example that does:
http://www.pbase.com/alintolea/image/138498367
I suspect most imagers unwittingly destroy it with Background Extraction or Gradient Exterminator

I haven't applied any sharpening but I do think it would benefit.  I think the image is also softer than usual because of terrible seeing that night and consequent terrible guiding.

I am amazed that you managed to get all that in the FOV with the Tak Epsilon.

I agree with John regarding the right sided gradient and the softness, but still an excellent image.

Full frame camera!  It makes a big difference

I can't help gradients caused by clouds of dust

Mark

[RobertM]

Very nice Mark, the Banana scope has just about the same fov as the Ferrari scope so I'm not surprised you fitted it all in.  I just hope Kelling skies allow me to finish off what I started back in May.

Background extraction shouldn't destroy the dust if used correctly but Gradient exterminator certainly will very easily - one of the reasons I don't use it anymore (that and not using PS).

It might be worth trying a bit of deconvolution, that'll reduce star sizes a tad and bring out some more Veil detail without destroying anything else.

I can't wait to get my camera out to some dark skies - it's sitting here looking at me with that 'take me for a walk' sideways dog like expression on it

What's next on your list ?

Robert

[MarkS]

What's next on your list ?

A 2-pane mosaic of IC1396 is already sitting on my hard drive waiting to be processed
But I have a really busy week this week

I've also got a Milky Way mosaic sitting on my hard drive (taken with a 35mm lens).  But how do I calculate the lens transformation required to be able to "glue" 8 images together in a long chain?

Mark

[RobertM]

I've 2hrs of IC1396 that have some nasty reflections and just can't get the final image right   at least I know how to stop that problem now.

Looking forward to seeing your result.

Robert

[Fay]

Good job you knew about that dark lane Mark, otherwise you would have spent ages trying to sort it out!

[MarkS]

Actually I didn't know it was there.  But it was quite obvious in my image so I did an internet search on other images in an attempt to validate it.

Mark

[MarkS]

Re-stacked and slightly sharpened this time:



Larger version: http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/2015/veil20150821v2.jpg

Mark

[Carole]

I like the later version, the sharpening has improved it well.

Carole

[MarkS]

The consensus on Cloudy Nights is that it is genuine dust I've captured there - probably due to the incredibly sensitive A7S/Tak Epsilon combination.  Previously only mono CCD cameras would have captured it but most of them would be imaging this object in narrowband instead.

The dust has compressed the shock wave and that why the veil looks straight at the right hand side (the Witches Broom) instead of the curvature found on the shock wave the other side.

This earlier (mosaic) attempt with the modified Canon makes an interesting comparison: http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/2011/veil.html

Mark

[Mac]

I've also got a Milky Way mosaic sitting on my hard drive (taken with a 35mm lens).  But how do I calculate the lens transformation required to be able to "glue" 8 images together in a long chain?

Photoshop has a good utility that will glue together multiple images, might be worth a try.
Although thinking about it it might struggle with stars, might be worth a try.

~Here is a 10 photo stitch together.



Mac.

[Kenny]

Photoshop couldn't handle my Sun and Moon mosaics. I used iMerge in the end.