M3 Globular Cluster + Edit

JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
From a few weeks back, captured in Arizona, not too far outside of Phoenix.

Globular Clusters are something I didn't much care for at first when I started up doing Deep Space Astro, but they have grown on me since then. :)

I did the majority of my processing in Photoshop. Globular Clusters often tend to be very bright in the center, and my skills in Pixinsight are not quite up to processing it in it. The center would keep blowing out, and I really wanted to get the detail in the center also. So while I stacked and did a few of my normal basic pre-stretching steps, I took it into Photoshop to use my old skills in stretching it and using layer masks so that I could easily stretch the outside while retaining the detail in the center. One day I will be able to do all of this in Pixinsight, but it wasn't this day. :)

I cropped this a bit off center as I liked that golden glowing star in the lower right. I could have cropped it out, but I thought it was pretty cool. I believe it is star HD 119081.

43 - Lights at 60 secs with the Optolong L-Pro
30 - Flats
30 - Dark/Flats
10 - Darks

iOptron Gem28
ZWO ASI2600mc Pro
ZWO 120mm Mini - Guide Camera
Askar Fra500
Stacked in Pixinsight
BlurXterminator
Processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop

All comments are welcome,

Jim

Original
M3_20230227_dw.jpg



Edit - Color Corrected
M3_20230227_CC_dw.jpg
 
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Douglas Sherman

Douglas Sherman

Staff
That is a beautiful globular star cluster, Jim. Astronomers think that there might be black holes at the centers of these accumulations of stars.
 
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Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis

Staff Member
Jim,

Very nice. I was like you and kind of failed to be excited by these targets at first, but with good data and careful processing they start to really come alive as yours is doing here.

I see a bit of a greenish cast to this - did you do any color calibration on it? In any case lovely details pulled out, triggers the brain to try to imagine the night sky on a planet orbiting a star near the middle of that!

ML
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Mike Lewis said:
Jim,

Very nice. I was like you and kind of failed to be excited by these targets at first, but with good data and careful processing they start to really come alive as yours is doing here.

I see a bit of a greenish cast to this - did you do any color calibration on it? In any case lovely details pulled out, triggers the brain to try to imagine the night sky on a planet orbiting a star near the middle of that!

ML
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike!

I dont' recall if I did a color calibration on this. I usually do, but sometimes when an object has the greenish/blue coloring I don't. I will go back and run it back through the Color Calibration and see if it changes it at all. Thanks!
 
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