As the seasonal monsoon clouds continue to make imaging impossible here in Tucson, I learned of the high-quality datasets kindly offered by #blackrig (see
https://erellaz.com/moana/). This was my first attempt at processing monochrome data, in this case Ha, SII and OIII. This is the Bat Nebula, part of the Eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil is a huge supernova remnant in Cygnus, spanning about 3 degrees or 6 times the diameter of the full Moon. The Bat is about the size of one full Moon. We have a fair number of owls in Tucson, and to me this looks more like an owl than a bat. But either way, it's an interesting object, rich in detail.
Processed in Pixinsight with Dynamic Background Extraction and BlurX on each channel, then stars unscreened using Bill Blanshan and Mike Cranfield's new Screen Stars script. Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch on each channel, then combined in Pixelmath with a formula from a Paulyman Astro Foraxx video. I then ran NoiseX and used Curves to adjust hues to retain the blue and red. Followed that with LHE for contrast enhancement, Curves and Color Saturation. Star channels combined with the same formula, then stretched in GHS gently. Curves and Color Saturation to tweak the colors, then rescreened with Screen Stars. A gentle touch of Unsharp Mask to tighten the stars, and final Curves adjustments to the background.
Excellent data, #blackrig. Thanks for sharing!
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