20211220/21 - NGC2237 (MON) - The Rosetta Nebula … A Christmas rose with dew on its petals, blooming in the winter sky
What’s in the picture(s) -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosette_NebulaQuote: “The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is an
H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the
Monoceros region of the
Milky Way Galaxy. The
open clusterNGC 2244(Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, the
stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's
matter.”
What was the experience
So, after 2 1/2 months of clouds, ‘clear skies’ it was … and I was determined to make the most of it, whatever the fog, full moon, iPad dying in the freezing cold, frost bite in the fingers, ice on the scopes from the night time freezing or whatever …
The subs from the first night all had a patch of ‘fog’ covering about 1/4 of the image, not sure if it was moon-light seeping in, or dew on the filter. Just in case, I wrapped a dew-heater around the filter for the second night. I used the data in the processing anyway
Also, apparently my target DSO was on the flight path of the intercontinental airplane-highway, spewing their con-trails in my pristine night sky … ugh … Blinking all my subs in PixInsight, I could see the con-trail passing over my images and spreading out. Ok, fog is a natural phenomenon, but this …
Not the best of conditions … the stacked image had this clear smudge across it, no darks, flats, bias frames, or ABE, DBE processing that could remove this …but my processing skills have improved somewhat in these past months 😎😉
I’m not the painter Van Eyck, but I think I managed to restore most of the painting, making it as ‘presentable’ as possible …
How it was done
Scope: TS94 APO (FL 414mm)
Mount: EQ6-R Pro
Camera: ASI2600MC Pro
L-Enhance
Photons:
20211220 180s 28x
20211221 180s 51x
Darks/Flats/Bias
Processing: PixInsight (Mac)
Astrobin:
What have I learned from this
Never stand down, never let go … even with a ‘bad’ night sky. The satisfaction doesn’t come from distilling the perfect image from the perfect capture, but from being able to apply your skills to craft a decent image out of data that is impacted by the imperfections of the moment. There is never a perfect night, capture or image … It’s not the pursuit of happiness, but the happiness of pursuing, to get as close as possible, knowing your skills are making the difference …
Let this be my inspiring Christmas message to all of you …
Clear Skies everybody! 🤩✨🔭
Follow me @astrowaut
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