[APML] New Image

["Brian Lula" <brianl@polytecpi.com>]

Hi All,

We had some email trouble today. I'm resending this one in case in case it got "lost".


I posted a new image to my website that was the nastiest to process so far. I
took the CCD images in January but didn't have the nerve or know how to work on
it til now. It is a deep image of the Cone Nebula/S Monoceros region that had
severe blooming, lots of RGB hot "specks" and growing frost "snakes".

I was going to write this image set off but just couldn't when I thought of the
time it took to acquire it and the infrequent opportunities I have to get a good
imaging run. 

Two images are posted, one is the raw color/b&w combination and the other is an
"artistic restoration" to remove the artifacts and make it appear more
pleasing. Some stars were removed along with the blooming spikes removal especially near 
the huge spike created from S Monoceros.

The image is an LRGB of 90:24:24:24 minute exposures respectively built up from
5 minute individual exposures using a 20" F/4 newtonian and a Finger Lakes
IMG6303E CCD camera. The seeing was about 5-6 and transparency about 8. This was
done in 2x2 bin mode for all the LRGB frames and has an image scale of 1.5
arcsec/pixel.

I opted against using a lot of short exposures to eliminate blooming because I figured I 
could build up better SN in the faint areas of the nebulosities with reduced readout noise in 
the combining. I knew though I would have to deal
with pretty nasty blooming. The "frost snakes" appeared half way into the
exposures and started as pinpoints and grew to the lengths you see in the "raw"
image. Fortunately they were in areas of relatively uniform brightness nebulosity and could 
be cleaned up relatively easily. The camera has since been repurged.

The "artisticly" processed image is at:

http://www.heavensgloryobservatory.com/Color_Jpegs/conenebFRGB01-6303Eweb.jpg

The "raw" combined color/b&w image is at:

http://www.heavensgloryobservatory.com/Color_Jpegs/conenebFRGB04rawcombine.jpg


Best regards, Brian




Brian Lula
Polytec PI, Inc.
(508) 832-3456

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