The Elephant's Trunk Nebula

[crimbfighter]

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula! Imaged last night from the back yard, I added nearly double the exposure time to last year's start on this target. The added exposure time brought out a lot more detail in the structures. Known for the similarity to an elephant lifting its head and curling its trunk, I have also been told it resembles the silhouette of a woman from behind, which I agree.

I created two color pallets for the image. The red colored image is true color and the blue/gold image separates the dominant gasses in the image, ionized hydrogen (gold) and oxygen (blue). I also created various crops and starless versions, each of which creates a different visual experience.

-Astro-Tech AT130EDT 130mm f/7 telescope with a 0.8x reducer, making it a 728mm focal length, f/5.6 scope.
-ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled camera
-ZWO EAF focuser
-iOptron HAE43 Strain Wave Gear mount
-Optolong L-Extreme dual narrowband filter
-Pegasus Astro Mini Powerbox
-Orion 60mm guide scope
-Orion Starshoot autoguider
-Controlled with a MeLE Qureduc4C mini PC running Windows

Software
-Sequence Generator Pro for acquisition
-PixInsight and Photoshop for image processing
-PHD2 guiding software

-173 x 180sec subexposures
-calibrated with 20 each darks, flats, and dark flats
-Total integration time of 8.7hrs

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8.

 

[Jeff15]

More amazing photography ...

 

[Woolsocks]

#3 and #7 Look so good soft. #5 runner up. Interesting.

 

[otherprof]

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula! Imaged last night from the back yard, I added nearly double the exposure time to last year's start on this target. The added exposure time brought out a lot more detail in the structures. Known for the similarity to an elephant lifting its head and curling its trunk, I have also been told it resembles the silhouette of a woman from behind, which I agree.

I created two color pallets for the image. The red colored image is true color and the blue/gold image separates the dominant gasses in the image, ionized hydrogen (gold) and oxygen (blue). I also created various crops and starless versions, each of which creates a different visual experience.

-Astro-Tech AT130EDT 130mm f/7 telescope with a 0.8x reducer, making it a 728mm focal length, f/5.6 scope.
-ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled camera
-ZWO EAF focuser
-iOptron HAE43 Strain Wave Gear mount
-Optolong L-Extreme dual narrowband filter
-Pegasus Astro Mini Powerbox
-Orion 60mm guide scope
-Orion Starshoot autoguider
-Controlled with a MeLE Qureduc4C mini PC running Windows

Software
-Sequence Generator Pro for acquisition
-PixInsight and Photoshop for image processing
-PHD2 guiding software

-173 x 180sec subexposures
-calibrated with 20 each darks, flats, and dark flats
-Total integration time of 8.7hrs

1.
View attachment 279532

2.
View attachment 279534

3.
View attachment 279530

4.
View attachment 279528

5.
View attachment 279531

6.
View attachment 279533

7.
View attachment 279529

8.
View attachment 279535

Gorgeous work!

 

[Thiophilos]

Very interesting.

 

[denum]

Stunning! Just beautiful. Thanks for posting.

 

[jeffashman]

Magnificent!

 

[crimbfighter]

#3 and #7 Look so good soft. #5 runner up. Interesting.

I always love the starless version because the really highlight all the details in the structures within the nebula.

Gorgeous work!

Thanks!

Stunning! Just beautiful. Thanks for posting.

Thank you!

Magnificent!

Thank you!

 

[Digger...]

How'd you remove the stars in #4? If one turns the nebula 45 degrees right its now a dragons head with a long neck & 2 front legs with claws.

I can't see the trunk.

 

[crimbfighter]

How'd you remove the stars in #4? If one turns the nebula 45 degrees right its now a dragons head with a long neck & 2 front legs with claws.

I can't see the trunk.

Over the last few years there are programs and plug-ins that remove the stars automatically. Prior to that it was a tedious and imperfect process to do it manually. The stars are kept as a separate layer so they can be added back in. The primary reason is to be able to edit the stars separately because the stars are so much brighter than the background object they will blow out much easier than the rest of the image.

 

[KJ_North]

Very unique

 

[lphilpot]

That's a Van de Bergh object, right? Can't recall the ID offhand (143 maybe?) but I remember trying to glimpse it visually in my 14.5" f/4.5 TeleKit. Never was sure if I saw it or not, even from very dark skies. Great images!

 

[slat]

Wonderful images.

 

[terri]

Phenomenal work - I always look forward to seeing your shots! Beautiful set.