Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  73 n Leo  ·  IC 2684  ·  IC 2694  ·  IC 2704  ·  IC 2708  ·  IC 2745  ·  Leo Triplet  ·  M 65  ·  M 66  ·  NGC 3593  ·  NGC 3623  ·  NGC 3627  ·  NGC 3628  ·  PGC 1401305  ·  PGC 1402378  ·  PGC 1403253  ·  PGC 1403273  ·  PGC 1403832  ·  PGC 1404066  ·  PGC 1408477  ·  PGC 1408723  ·  PGC 1409059  ·  PGC 1409536  ·  PGC 1409776  ·  PGC 1409967  ·  PGC 1410147  ·  PGC 1410250  ·  PGC 1410338  ·  PGC 1411161  ·  PGC 1411256  ·  And 67 more.
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Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, Alan Brunelle
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Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, Alan Brunelle
Powered byPixInsight

Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628

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Acquisition details

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Description

Revision 1/18/2023:
I wanted to improve the stars and see if I could get a bit more detail with newer methods available at this time.  That is just about all that I got.  I did do a simpler WBPP, simply using all of the subs, rather than splitting the best out to form a sharper Luminance image to overlay the colors.  Otherwise I slightly reduced stars a bit vs. the original version, yet I think I got a bit deeper with some of the many tiny red galaxies that are scattered about in the background in large clusters.  These do not look like much other than faint smudges on the background when viewed full scale.  So I think I got a bit more out of the dynamic range with the new methods.  This allowed me to get better definition and visibility of the faint star stream moving away from M66 and also the more extended star streams of the other galaxies.

Seems like this took a lot of stretching to get what I wanted.  So meant to be viewed up to full screen on a decent sized monitor.  The image certainly falls apart upon pixel peeping.

Original Description:
I have been sitting on this one for a while because I ran into some issues with the data that made processing difficult. I may have solved the issue with the data and also the origination of the problem as well. However, the data solution has allowed me to post this in at least a presentable form. I am finding that my subs, and other calibration frames are having a fine raster line-like defect on some subjects. Turns out that it is a software driver issue between acquisition software and camera. I hope to work that out soon. However the data is easily resolved using a PI script (CannonBandingReduction). Pretty amazing little fix for those that are interested. And this is not even a Canon camera!

This is so often presented here, that I will not add more to the subject other than it is a beautiful grouping!

Comments

Revisions

  • Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, Alan Brunelle
    Original
  • Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, Alan Brunelle
    B
  • Final
    Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, Alan Brunelle
    C

B

Description: I revisited the processing of this data with the intent to reduce some of the background noise. I also thought that I would try to select the best subs to improve the detail within the galaxies themselves. It is hard to tell with the jpg, but it did improve marginally. However, in keeping with my latest feelings of overall contrast and presentation, I have calmed down the brightness and contrast in the more dynamic areas of the image. (I do believe that no one will ever get a sun burn by basking in the light of these galaxies, so no point in making these look over saturated!) While a little more boring overall than the original image, I feel that more can be seen within the galaxies and help better define the real nature of the galactic cores for the two non-edge-on galaxies (even the small one in the lower right corner!). I did create some problems with many of the stars and may well return to this in the future, but when I look at this full frame on my large monitor, I really have no issues with even those artifacts, so not in a big rush. But at least I know what I did to screw that up and how to fix it, if/when I get back to it.

Uploaded: ...

C

Title: Revision 1/18/2023

Description: See updated Description

Uploaded: ...

Sky plot

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Histogram

Leo Triplet, M66, M65 and NGC 3628, Alan Brunelle