Lobster Nebula w/friends

[Comet Hunter]

taken 10/23/2025 6 1/2 hours of lights using my William Optic GT71 which is 332mm FL, ASI2600mc, Antilla ALP-T 5nm filter

Shown is Nebulae NGC7538, NGC7635 and Sh2-157\

Question: do you prefer the one with LOTs of stars #1 Or fewer stars #2?

Ed Litoborski
Interstellar Astrophotography
https://www.interstellarastrophotography.com/

#1 Lots of stars

#2 Fewer stars but shows off more of the nebula

 

[JimFox]

Hey Ed, great job here!

#1 is my favorite, I think the stars look great there. Though I will say that in both, the stars look too dim, they should be a bit brighter I think.

 

[Comet Hunter]

thanks, note taken!

 

[Mike Lewis]

Nice Ed! At this scale harder to judge, but I think I agree with Jim, the stars look more natural in #1, and certainly are not overpowering your nebulosity.

Just FYI - I have started to dial back on my using smaller stars, as my existing scope (Redcat 91) already makes very small stars, and I am finding that anything that makes them too much smaller than that can cause issues. I do drizzle my output and so then using BlurXterminator gives me back natural looking small stars, but after that I do not do any star reduction. Of course it is dependent on your system and on personal preference, so no wrong answer really. The best approach is the one YOU like the best

ML

 

[Andy Elliott]

They are both awesome shots, but I think image #1 edges it, it does the stars justice and you're not loosing any of the lovely star colours.