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[RCC] NGC688 area

Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight Narrowband Request for feedback Emission Nebula
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Dirk Bausch avatar
Dirk Bausch avatar
Good morning,

I would appreciate constructive criticism of my take of the Crescent nebula area: https://app.astrobin.com/i/rkdr70

Image acquisition was from my Bortle 4 backyard over 8 nights in June.
Processing was in Pixinsight:
-Gradient removal
-BXT correct only
-Narrowband stretching with Histogram transform, HDRWaveletTransform, ExponentialTransform, Curves
-NXT
-After image combination, NB stars were removed and RGB stars added (BXT correct only, SPCC, stretching)
Final color balancing and slight sharpening was done in Photoshop.

Constructive criticism is highly welcome!
Best,
Dirk
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
The OIII lines aren't bluette but rather teal.  And the red in Ha a bit too red.
Daniel Cimbora avatar
Daniel Cimbora avatar
Hi Dirk,

Very few criticisms, to my eye.

- Overall color, composition, and intensity are good
- Star shapes and colors look good
- Not over-deconvoluted or otherwise processed
- Nice detail in 6888, especially the outer Oiii shells

My only substantial suggestion is to hit it with NoiseXT at the end to get rid of the graininess.

Nice image.

Regards
Dan
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Anderl avatar
Anderl avatar
I like it ;) 
i am working at the same rn. also with an esprit 120. 

nice image, quality data, good processing.

cs
anderl
Mike H - Sky View Observatory avatar
Mike H - Sky View Observatory avatar
I think it looks good Dirk. Lot's of detail with good star color.  I'd be happy with it smile


Mike
Quinn Groessl avatar
Quinn Groessl avatar
If the worst you get is a bit of nit picks about the hues I’d say you did pretty well. Besides that the only thing I would have changed is the framing a bit to get the soap bubble (I think that’s what it’s called) off the edge of the frame a bit. 

Really nice photo.
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Vroomfondel avatar
Vroomfondel avatar
Minor typo in thread title - NGC6888 not NGC688

(I really liked the inclusion of the Soap Bubble Nebula on the edge of the frame!)
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Tony Gondola avatar
Tony Gondola avatar
Technically it's well executed. Artistically I think it's a bit busy. If you toned down the background Ha a bit it would allow the crescent to come forward as the main subject. As it is now, the background is competing with it for your eye's attention. Sometimes less is more!
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Dirk Bausch avatar
Dirk Bausch avatar
Thank you all for your evaluation of the image and the suggestions for improvement.
Daniel Cimbora:
My only substantial suggestion is to hit it with NoiseXT at the end to get rid of the graininess.

Dan, I will certainly try  out more noise reduction. Usually, I try not to overuse it to avoid an artificial look of the images.
andrea tasselli:
The OIII lines aren't bluette but rather teal.  And the red in Ha a bit too red.

This as actually intentional. I like OIII less green and more blue.
Quinn Groessl:
If the worst you get is a bit of nit picks about the hues I’d say you did pretty well. Besides that the only thing I would have changed is the framing a bit to get the soap bubble (I think that’s what it’s called) off the edge of the frame a bit. 

Really nice photo.

I totally agree with you! Actually, I didn't know about the Soap Bubble Nebula and was very surprised to find it on my stacked images! Next time, I would certainly frame  it better.

Tony Gondola:
Technically it's well executed. Artistically I think it's a bit busy. If you toned down the background Ha a bit it would allow the crescent to come forward as the main subject. As it is now, the background is competing with it for your eye's attention. Sometimes less is more!

Good idea. Would you use a mask or do some other processing technique?


Best,
Dirk
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Tony Gondola avatar
Tony Gondola avatar
Dirk Bausch:
Good idea. Would you use a mask or do some other processing technique?


I'm not a PI guy so I can't help you there but yes, you could do it with a mask or creative layering in a photo processing program.
Georg N. Nyman avatar
Georg N. Nyman avatar
No real topics to mention  - nicely done.

A few suggestions only

- maybe make the background a bit darker to allow the nebula to stand out a bit more prominent
- maybe the blueish color would benefit from a bit more saturation
- maybe a noise reduction app would make it less grainy

CS
Georg