Astronomy Picture for Today

nasa ^ | 02/21/2006 | DG

[HOTTIEBOY]

Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Star Shadows Remote Observatory

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The Horsehead. The bottom picture is a mapped color image using the "Hubble Palette" ionized Sulpher (SII) as red, ionized Hydorgen (Ha) as Green, ionized Oxygen (OIII) as blue.

The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure in the top picture shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of absorbing dust and glowing gas. To bring out details of the Horsehead's pasture, amateur astronomers at the Star Shadow Remote Observatory in New Mexico, USA fixed a small telescope on the region for over seven hours filtering out all but a very specific color of red light emitted by hydrogen. They then added the image to a full color frame taken over three hours. The resulting spectacular picture details an intricate tapestry of gaseous wisps and dust-laden filaments that were created and sculpted over eons by stellar winds and ancient supernovas. The Horsehead Nebula lies 1,500 light years distant towards the constellation of Orion. Two stars from the Orion's Belt can be found in the top image.

[HOTTIEBOY]

Pasted from Allaboutastro.com

Exposure Info: LLRGB image; 160:50:40:60 RGB (20 minute subexposures for L, 10 minute subexposures for RGB, color binned)

Processing Information: Acquisition with CCDSoft. Calibration (darks/flats), registration, gradient removal, and RGB channel combine in MaxIm DL 4 (average combine). LRGB and LLRGB combine, color balance, levels/curves, high pass sharpening, and noise removal and local contrast enhancement (Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools) in Photoshop CS.

Exposure Notes: One of the more difficult objects I've shot, simply because of the havoc wreaked by the bright star Alnitak just off the frame to the left. Philosophically, it poses a dilemma...attack the gradient, leaving the viewer with the question of why the red channel is weaker compared to the other channels -or- perserve the gradient, making it more obvious that something lurks outside the frame impressing itself on the landscape? For this image, I chose a mixture of both philosophies. The original data is heavily biased to the blue, so strengthening of the red channel and removal of most of the blue gradients were required; however, leaving some of the diffraction spikes/flares from Alnitak gives reference to its presence.

[HOTTIEBOY]

ping

[Americanexpat]

Beautiful pictures, thanks for posting.

[conservativebabe]

stunning

[HOTTIEBOY]

You?

[HOTTIEBOY]

Thanks for stopping by..

[conservativebabe]

me what?

[HOTTIEBOY]

stunning?

[conservativebabe]

FReepmail

[tje]

and I thought I had gas....

[Millee]

Hey Hottie!

Could you add me to your ping list please?

[HOTTIEBOY]

Could you add me to your ping list please?



It shall be done....

[RightWhale]

Photoshopped is it?

[HOTTIEBOY]

Only to remove trash and enhance....

[RightWhale]

Photoshop has some useful tools similar to what one would use in remote sensing analysis. Nothing wrong with Photoshop. The astro images start life as digital computer files whether in your little digital camera, your CCD telescope like this one, your Earthsat, or Hubble. All the same. Turn the Hubble toward earth and the same set of gear will spot mineralized deposits when the data is processed with an intent of remote sensing. It could probably pick out a single tree.

[meanie monster]

Nice pics and, lol at your tagline! :>)

[toomanygrasshoppers]

bttt

[phantomworker]

Whoa! Lots of dimension to these pictures! Incredible!