TheSkySearchers

Hi everyone. Hope that all is going well.

I had the nice opportunity to get out a few nights ago (Jan 14-15) and really had a good time.

A significant moon prevented broadband imaging, so I found a cool looking target that I had never imaged before, the Jellyfish Nebula.

I saw in N.I.N.A. Framing that there was more nebulosity nearby and tried to frame it accordingly.

A little bit more than 11 hours of total integration over two partial evenings (goes into the trees).

Sharpstar 61 EDPHII w/0.8FR/FF(@275mm)
169 lights at 240 seconds with the L-eNhance filter
ASI533 MC-P @-10C

I know, LOTS of red. Just about the entire field is full of Ha. There is one small clear area that I used to set the background levels in PS.
If you are not a fan of reds, this image will not appeal to you at all!

The Ha in the background didn’t seem to detract from the nebulosity of the target(s), so I just let it shine through. No masking done on the background. Just background extraction.

Captured with N.I.N.A. and processing by Pixinsight and Photoshop CC.

I did rotate the image post processing 90° CW to re-orientate the Jellyfish to my liking.

I must note that I had horrible star halos from both stars Mu Geminorum and Propus that I am sure were from the L-eNhance filter.
Big, giant, and ugly halos!
I followed Steve’s @STEVE333 nicely outlined instructions in the thread viewtopic.php?t=27631 and this method that he shared made a world of difference! If you are curious what the before and after look like, I posted images on Steve’s thread.
From obnoxious halos to a much more tamed palatable image. Thanks Steve!

Thanks for looking and comments are very welcome!

Congratulations Jim on having your image selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/1-19-2023-tss-astrophot ... of-the-day

Congrats on the APOD, Jim. Really pretty wide field.

Dang! Thanks Gordon! You were my first post response!

Juno16 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:12 pm Dang! Thanks Gordon! You were my first post response!

It's THAT great of an image!!!

Wonderful! Great work, Jim! Congrats for APOD!

That is a very nice image Jim!

Incredible capture! Congrats on your APOD recognition.

Dave

Very nice IC443 Jim. Congrats on earning today's APOD!

Really nice image JIm. Good work on repairing the halo! Lovely composition with the adjacent nebulosity included. Congrats on the APOD, well deserved.

Steve

That is a beauty, Jim. If it's red, it's red - it makes sense to show it that way! The finely detailed nebulosity is very impressive. I love the bridge that your framing has highlighted so well.

Still raining here, I might as well just get another good nights sleep (sigh).

Bob

Great image Jim. I love the colour and the detail.

Very well deserved APOD.

starfield wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:10 pm Congrats on the APOD, Jim. Really pretty wide field.

Thank you Steve!

MariusD69 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:41 pm Wonderful! Great work, Jim! Congrats for APOD!

Hi Marius and thank you for your nice comments!

Lady Fraktor wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:47 pm That is a very nice image Jim!

Hi Gabby and thanks!

Unitron48 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:08 pm Incredible capture! Congrats on your APOD recognition.


Thanks for your nice comments!

Dave

STEVE333 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:43 pm Really nice image JIm. Good work on repairing the halo! Lovely composition with the adjacent nebulosity included. Congrats on the APOD, well deserved.

Steve

I really appreciate the help Steve. I bookmarked your halo repair tip post because I knew that I would need it someday!
Thanks!

helicon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:40 pm Very nice IC443 Jim. Congrats on earning today's APOD!

Much appreciated Michael! Thanks for the nice comment!

bobharmony wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:52 pm That is a beauty, Jim. If it's red, it's red - it makes sense to show it that way! The finely detailed nebulosity is very impressive. I love the bridge that your framing has highlighted so well.

Still raining here, I might as well just get another good nights sleep (sigh).

Bob

Thank you Bob!
My first time imaging the Jellyfish and it sure is an interesting subject. That bridge area somewhat looks like a plume that comes out of the top of the Jellyfish. I wasn't too sure how well it would show up, but it did nicely.
I thought about masking background area to better highlight the target(s), but it had so much Ha to offer, I just ran with it.

We seem to be on our "regular" pattern here. Occasional front, then several cool, clear and windy days, then clouds, rain, clouds, rain. Clear nights are infrequent enough that I would feel badly if I missed one!
I'm hoping to get more data on M78 with the moon in good position, but unless something changes in the forecast, I will be looking at next year.
Much appreciated sir!

Jockinireland wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:27 pm Great image Jim. I love the colour and the detail.

Very well deserved APOD.

My first foray into using GHS for stretching and this image responded well to it.
Thanks a bunch David.

Wow! Great job! Congratulations on the APOD.

Simply magnificent work , congrat on the apod , thx .

Wow! I love the texture in the clouds at the top left! And in the jellyfish itself, of course. Very nicely done!

jrkirkham wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:48 pm Wow! Great job! Congratulations on the APOD.

Thanks John!

messier 111 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:54 pm Simply magnificent work , congrat on the apod , thx .

Hi Jean-Yves! Thank you!

KathyNS wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:57 pm Wow! I love the texture in the clouds at the top left! And in the jellyfish itself, of course. Very nicely done!

Thanks Kathy for your nice comments!
This is really a beautiful target area. I don't know how I've missed imaging it before.

Hi Jim. This was a well spent 11 hours of collecting data. You have a superb Jellyfish Nebul (IC443) and neighbor IC444 in your image. Excellent contrast and I love the vibrant red color and details in the nebulosity in the capture. Thanks for sharing this wonderful work with us Jim and congratulations on receiving the much deserved TSS APOD Award today.

WOW! That's absolutely gorgeous Jim!

Congratulations on the well deserved APOD!