Reprocess of 2017 Eastern Veil Nebula

[Mike Lewis]

So, inspired by Ed's (@Comet Hunter) wonderful work on reprocessing some of his data, I decided to go back to one of my older images from 2017, the Eastern Veil Nebula. Lots has changed since 2017, both in available post processing tools and techniques, and also in my proficiency level in massaging this type of data. The original image (which is included below this new one for comparison) was a decent effort for the time prior to when I had my gear semi-permanently installed in AZ to control from CO. But it is a shorter integration time (132 minutes) than I would take if I were imaging it now, and more importantly, the colors and noise levels are not what can now be achieved with reprocessing. So I reworked this, with the primary improvements coming from BlurXterminator (a little added definition in the nebula I think), Noise Xterminator (cleaner result), and more skill and options available to get the color mix I liked. Additionally, I was able to process using the star removal method (the original Starnet++ that was the only tool available in 2017 did an unusable job of removing the stars on this when I processed it originally...) Removal of the stars this time around allowed me more latitude on stretching the nebula, as well as more flexibility on star size and color. This was originally collected prior to my practice of collecting separate RGB data for the stars, so this star data here is combined back in using just the Ha and OIII star data in a heavily manipulated way to get closer to RGB-like colors for the stars, although most are still white (clipped).

Eastern Veil Nebula, reworked (2023)

Originally Processed Eastern Veil Nebula (2017)

ML

 

[Comet Hunter]

Outstanding, it's like opening a Christmas present twice, and finding a different but pleasent surprise both times

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice job with the rework.

 

[JimFox]

Great job with the rework Mike! I have seen others similar to your original, so that was a pretty common look of that time. But it seems times are changing, and our tools have advanced so fast, it's almost mind boggling. Great job with reworking this.