Mike Lewis
Staff Member
The Angel Nebula, or NGC 2170, is a stunning reflection nebula in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), known for its ethereal blue hues and wing-like dust structures, reflecting light from nearby hot stars within the massive Monoceros R2 star-forming region, roughly 2,400-2,700 light-years away. This cosmic canvas features blue reflection nebulae, red hydrogen emission, dark dust clouds, and bright stars, creating a rich tapestry of star formation.
This one was a challenge to process, as there is a wide range of brightness and tonality values in the frame. This was my first image where I tried out the Veralux script. Veralux script was used for stars, and then a combo of GHS and Veralux with lots of tweaking for the nebulosity, as I did not like the results from Veralux on the nebulosity with the stars included.
Thanks for looking, and any comments and/or critiques are most welcome.
Larger versions available if you click through on Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/mlewis?i=1fs4y6#gallery
Equipment:
Poseidon-M Camera @ -5C and
Gain:125 Offset:25
Astro-Physics Mach2 Mount
Williams Optics Cat 91 Refractor, 448mm @ f/4.9
Antlia Pro Filters (3nm narrowband plus RGB)
Askar FMA180 Guide scope with ASI290MM
Software:
Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.9
Lightroom CC
Photoshop CC
N.I.N.A. Control Software
BlurXTerminator (Russell Croman)
StarXTerminator (Russell Croman)
NoiseXTerminator (Russell Croman)
Astro-Physics APCC and APPM
Light Frames:
Gain 125 / Offset 25
Red: 26 x 600 secs (4 hrs 20 mins)
Green: 23 x 600 secs (3 hrs 50 mins)
Blue: 24 x 600 secs (4 hrs)
Hα: 24 x 900 secs (6 hrs)
18 hrs 10 mins total
Dark Frames:
10 x 900 secs (2 hrs 30 mins)
10 x 600 secs (1 hr 40 mins)
This one was a challenge to process, as there is a wide range of brightness and tonality values in the frame. This was my first image where I tried out the Veralux script. Veralux script was used for stars, and then a combo of GHS and Veralux with lots of tweaking for the nebulosity, as I did not like the results from Veralux on the nebulosity with the stars included.
Thanks for looking, and any comments and/or critiques are most welcome.
Larger versions available if you click through on Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/mlewis?i=1fs4y6#gallery
Equipment:
Poseidon-M Camera @ -5C and
Gain:125 Offset:25
Astro-Physics Mach2 Mount
Williams Optics Cat 91 Refractor, 448mm @ f/4.9
Antlia Pro Filters (3nm narrowband plus RGB)
Askar FMA180 Guide scope with ASI290MM
Software:
Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.9
Lightroom CC
Photoshop CC
N.I.N.A. Control Software
BlurXTerminator (Russell Croman)
StarXTerminator (Russell Croman)
NoiseXTerminator (Russell Croman)
Astro-Physics APCC and APPM
Light Frames:
Gain 125 / Offset 25
Red: 26 x 600 secs (4 hrs 20 mins)
Green: 23 x 600 secs (3 hrs 50 mins)
Blue: 24 x 600 secs (4 hrs)
Hα: 24 x 900 secs (6 hrs)
18 hrs 10 mins total
Dark Frames:
10 x 900 secs (2 hrs 30 mins)
10 x 600 secs (1 hr 40 mins)
Last edited:
