The Orion Nebula in HDR (live.staticflickr.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

top 4 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Although the Orion Nebula is a popular beginner astrophotography target, it can be difficult to shoot because of the bright core. Combining images with different exposure lengths into an HDR image is necessary in order to properly expose for the faint dust surrounding M42 and the bright nebulosity near the trapezium cluster in the core. I opted to go for a more subtle HDR look with this one, which I think is more visually pleasing than some other overcooked HDR images (aka my previous attempt at it). Also for those interested I made a short time lapse of my telescope in action photographing this. Captured on January 22, 23, and February 7th, 2021 from a Bortle 6 zone (Probably higher local bortle level due to streetlamp at the south end of my driveway)

Places where I host my other images:

Instagram | Flickr

Equipment:

TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
Orion Sirius EQ-G
ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
ZWO ASI-120MC for guiding
Moonlite Autofocuser

Acquisition: 5 hours 54 minutes (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C)

L- 109x120" + 50x15" + 50x5"
R- 23x120" + 25x15"
G- 23x120" + 25x15"
B- 22x120" + 25x15"
Darks- 30
Flats- 30 per filter

Capture Software:

Captured using N.I.N.A. and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.

PixInsight Processing:

BatchPreProcessing
StarAlignment
Blink
ImageIntegration
DrizzleIntegration per stack per channel (2x, Var β=1.5)
HDRComposition per filter to make 64-bit HDR images
DynamicCrop
DynamicBackgroundExtraction

Luminance:

EZ Deconvolution
EZ Denoise
STF applied via HistogramTransformation to make nonlinear

RGB:

ChannelCombination to combine monochrome R, G, and B HDR stacks into color image
DynamicBackgroundExtraction
PhotometricColorCalibration
SCNR to partially remove greens
HSV repair to saturate clipped star cores
Linked STF applied via HistogramTransformation to make nonlinear

Nonlinear:

EZ HDR applied to reveal detail in blown out core per Luminance and RGB images

I opted to only mix 10% of the HDR image back in the original luminance. Wanted to go with a more subtle HDR look that didn't feel too 'overcooked' while keeping some of the nebulosity near the trapezium visible in the final image.

LRGBCombination to add lum image as a luminance layer to the RGB image
CurveTransformation to adjust lightness, contrast, and saturation
ACDNR
LocalHistogramTransformation
HistogramTransformation to slightly stretch image
Another Curve for saturation boost
EZ Star Reduction
Resample to 78%
Annotation

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

@lefty7283 #astrophotography

This is great information, I'll definitely give it a try

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Very nice final! Love the natural look of it.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Stunning!

this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023

37 points (100.0% liked)

Astrophotography

1630 readers

2 users here now

Welcome to !astrophotography!

We are Lemmy's dedicated astrophotography community!

If you want to see or post pictures of space taken by amateurs using amateur level equipment, this is the place for you!

If you want to learn more about taking astro photos, check out our wiki or our discord!

Please read the rules before you post! It is your responsibility to be aware of current rules. Failure to be aware of current rules may result in your post being removed without warning at moderator discretion.

Rules

I | Real space images only.

Astrophotography refers to images of astronomical objects or phenomena exclusively.
~~Images that show objects or people below the Kármán Line (100km) will be removed.~~ We won't be enforcing this rule for now, but as the community grows eventually we will split and have a separate space for just landscape astro.
Images must be an accurate representation of a real astronomical object.
See this page for more details

II | Original and Amateur Content Only

Image posts can only be images that you have captured and processed yourself, or discussion about capturing and/or processing your own images.
Images acquired from public sources, professional observatories, or other professional services are not allowed.
If you have done a drastic alteration or reprocessing of a prior submission, you may repost your edit - but only after a minimum of one week has passed.

III | Post Types

Image posts are to link directly to the image, not to landing pages, personal galleries, blogs, or professional sites. Link to these in the comments. (AstroBin and Imgur, are allowed)
Questions are welcome here for the time being.
Links to blogs, articles or external websites should be interesting and promote discussion about amateur astrophotography.

IV | Titles

All image posts should just include include the name of the object being photographed. Extra info such as equipment, it being your first image, or other information should go in a comment along with your acquisition info. Please see this page for more details.

If your post is removed, try reposting with a different title. Don't hesitate to message the mods if you still have questions!

V | Acquisition and Processing Information

All submitted images must include acquisition and processing details as a top-level comment. All posts without this information may be given a warning, and if not updated will be removed.
This includes the telescope, mount, camera, accessories, and any other pieces of equipment you used to capture the image.
You must also include processing details, i.e. the programs you used and a general rundown of the workflow/processes you used within those programs. “Processed in Photoshop” is not enough.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]