SH2-129 and Ou4, The Bat and Squid Nebula (Bob Rucker)

SH2-129 and Ou4, The Bat and Squid Nebula

Without a doubt, this is the most difficult target that I have ever attempted. I'm somewhat shocked that the image is recognizable given my mediocre processing skills. I'm happy with this initial result and look forward to collecting some more data once the monsoon clouds clear out and see if I can further improve the image.

I need more Ha as I'm missing some of the fainter red nebulosity. Some more Oiii is in order as the amount of stretching used to pull out the squid with the limited data lost some of the fainter detail that I see from imagers that actually know what they are doing. The next phase will probably include some RGB data to get more natural star colors. At some point I probably need to consider learning Pixinsight so that I have access to some more advance processing tools but Astro Pixel Processor and Photoshop still make a good combination that I'm comfortable working with.

APP was used for stacking, light pollution removal and other basic processing on each channel. I then used the star removal tool in APP so that I had starless Ha and Oiii channels. The separate starless images were then stretched in Photoshop and further processed. I then used the HOO RGB combine tool in APP to create a color starless version along with a color HOO version with stars. Photoshop was then used to blend the starless version with stars.

I've been imaging for a bit over 3 years using OSC cameras but I'm only 2 months into mono imaging with my ASI294MM camera. I have a long way to go before I begin figuring everything out but I'm amazed by the sensitivity of the mono camera along with the added flexibility for processing data. If only the monsoon would clear out so that I can keep up with learning more about this crazy hobby.

Original
Final
B

B

Description: Redid the processing after watching some more tutorials.

Uploaded: ...

	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
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	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	4950373
PixInsight job	BX228QOZW9WUN32WC4P6UPYJ864AMV3A
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	21h12m01s.38
RA (top/left)	21h26m25s.79
RA (top/right)	20h56m15s.40
RA (bottom/right)	20h58m42s.78
RA (bottom/left)	21h26m52s.51

Dec (center)	+59°53′38″.1
Dec (top/left)	+61°08′40″.8
Dec (top/right)	+60°50′31″.2
Dec (bottom/right)	+58°33′15″.9
Dec (bottom/left)	+58°50′09″.3

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