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M42, NGC 1976, Sh2-281 Composite

Category:Deep Sky
Published:
497
M42, NGC 1976, Sh2-281 CompositeNGC 1976NGC 1980NGC 1977NGC 1975NGC 1973NGC 1982
Resolution:
2905x2215 px
File size:
1661 KB

Photo description / processing

It turns out the reducer can eat away detail. Here is a composite from two stacks with different filters and different focal lengths. The goal was to bring back the sharpness from the old image into the shot with the reducer. I must admit that I couldn't fully restore the sharpness. The SNR improved significantly in the center of the frame, leaving a noisy border, and I had to get creative with a mask to fix the bug. The colors mixed interestingly from the different filters; I wanted to adjust the color to be closer to the last version. Some Herbig-Haro objects were partially lost, which is unfortunate, but as a learning process, it turned out quite engaging. In short, it's possible, but not advisable. I think that's enough M42 for now. Sorry for the photo spam—I just posted a similar one recently. P.S. The shot with the reducer was also taken in terrible seeing for my location.

Technical information

Telescope/Lens
Askar 71F
Camera
ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Mount
JUWEI 14
Guide Scope
Askar 32 f4
Guide Camera
ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Accessories
CAA, EAF, ASIAIR MINI
Software
Siril, GraXpert, Lightroom, StarNet++
Location
Самара, Россия

Light pollution

Orange, Bortle 6 zone

Date taken

Exposure

  • 22 × 180″ · ISO/Gain: 100 · Optolong Moon and Skyglow 1.25 ·
  • 117 × 60″ · ISO/Gain: 100 · L-Pro ·

Total exposure: 3 h 3 m

Comments

Robert Nik
Is it the telescope or the reducer in it that produces stars like these?
A reducer is always a compromise...
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poppy8microReply to Robert Nik
The effect is a little bit of everything: the reducer, the telescope, and the Moon filter in the first case, and the weather in the second. Probably that's it. Well, it's like the situation with a bad dancer.
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Robert NikReply to poppy8micro
Does the filter actually cut IR? I had one like that and it seemed to be for visual use. So it must pass IR. And on lens-based optics, that bloats the stars.)
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