NGC 5139 – The Omega Centauri Globular Cluster
OTA:……………….TAO 150  (f/7.3)
Camera:………….FLI - ML16200 (1.13 arcsec/pixel)
Observatory:….Deep Sky West, Chile

EXPOSURES:                

EXPOSURES:                
…R……10 x 120 sec.            
…B….....7 x 120        
…G……28 x 120    
…L…….13 x 120    
Total exposure <2 hours

Image Width: 1d 23"
Processed by Alex Woronow (2020) using PixInsight, Topaz, ACDSee, SWT

Collected by DSW in Chile, this data set appears to be incomplete. A lot of green and not much through other filters, with the last images dating from about 3 months ago. But I decided to give it a chance and am not dissatisfied with the results. (I never noticed this before, but I uploaded a 60MB image, and Astrobin says you can click to see the "full resolution" 10.4MB image. Oh, well!)

I won't go there because Wikipedia can enlighten you on many interesting facts about this globular cluster. Instead, how about a word for those struggling with astro-image processing using PhotoShop or PixInsight. There are two more straightforward programs for getting started.

The first is StarTools. It has been around for a long time and does a very credible job, especially for the small up-front cost. Its most impressive feature is that it tracks your actions, and you can go backward (in a sense) and change things, and it updates all subsequent actions to bring you back to where you were. The downside is that you must calibrate and stack your images in another tool before using StarTools…but such tools exist for little or no cost.

The second is relatively recent on the scene. Affinity Photo, a once general-purpose image-processing platform, has added extensive routines specific to astro-image processing. I have not used Affinity for astro-image processing, but I have watched some of the tutorials, and it looks impressive and accessible. I believe it also does some image calibration, alignment, and stacking. Also, it has some AI and HDR capabilities in its post-processing toolbox—and they operate at 32bit! The cost is modest; it has been on sale for $25 for several months.

By the way, I have no association with either of these products (nor any other, for that matter).

Alex Woronow