M4 and the Antares Region

[JimFox]

Ever since I had processed an image off of some free Astro data of M4, I was wondering if I could go capture it myself. So this is my attempt at the M4 Globular Cluster and that area around it. So from Dallas Divide in Colorado a few weeks back I captured this.

Being a novice, it's still a lot of experimentation. I didn't like the way the Antares star looked, and don't have time to start over, so I got rid of it. Hopefully no one faints, or banishes me out to the nether regions. There may be an unspoken Astro rule that I shouldn't have cloned it out, but it ended up looking strange I thought and also overshadowed M4. So it got the axe.

Skyguider Pro
Nikon D850 - Unmodified
Tamron 150-600mm @600mm

40 lights @ 45 sec (at 600mm I was hedging my bets by going with a shorter shutter speed to make sure I got sharp stars)
10 - Dark Frames
20 - Flat Frames
20 - Bias Frames

All comments are welcome,

Jim

PS. M4 Globular Cluster is the cluster of stars on the right side (middle)

 

[Ben Egbert]

Your ok with me on the star removal, looks pretty good to me.

 

[AlanLichty]

I don't know the stars well enough to spot what you did so I am not suffering from pangs of your blasphemy

Neat DSO scene.

 

[JimFox]

Your ok with me on the star removal, looks pretty good to me.

Thanks so much Ben!

 

[JimFox]

I don't know the stars well enough to spot what you did so I am not suffering from pangs of your blasphemy

Neat DSO scene.

I am glad to hear that, I was hoping that would be the case since the rest of the image carries it anyway. Thanks so much!

 

[Gramps Potter]

Ever since I had processed an image off of some free Astro data of M4, I was wondering if I could go capture it myself. So this is my attempt at the M4 Globular Cluster and that area around it. So from Dallas Divide in Colorado a few weeks back I captured this.

Being a novice, it's still a lot of experimentation. I didn't like the way the Antares star looked, and don't have time to start over, so I got rid of it. Hopefully no one faints, or banishes me out to the nether regions. There may be an unspoken Astro rule that I shouldn't have cloned it out, but it ended up looking strange I thought and also overshadowed M4. So it got the axe.

Skyguider Pro
Nikon D850 - Unmodified
Tamron 150-600mm @600mm

40 lights @ 45 sec (at 600mm I was hedging my bets by going with a shorter shutter speed to make sure I got sharp stars)
10 - Dark Frames
20 - Flat Frames
20 - Bias Frames

All comments are welcome,

Jim

PS. M4 Globular Cluster is the cluster of stars on the right side (middle)


View attachment 40976

very nice !

 

[Alisa]

Very nice. It's amazing what technology can do for us these days!

 

[CRTAstro]

Nice job Jim !

 

[Mike Lewis]

Jim,

First of all, welcome to the bane of astrophotography - really bright stars. What are they doing so close to these beautiful targets anyway!??! Shheeesh!

I would say cloning anything significant object out is fair game as long as it is acknowledged as you have done here. If we wished to do science with these resultant images that would be one thing, but for most folks (myself included) I think the objective is to make pretty pictures.

It would be instructive to see your image with the star still in though - perhaps there is/was another approach that could have worked. But let's face it, if removing ALL the stars and then putting them back in from other data is OK (as I regularly do in NB processing, cause I like the naturally colored stars better) then it is hard to have any issues with this IMHO.

You have some nice definition in the cluster, seeing and tracking must have been pretty good - well done.

ML