Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Orion (Ori)  ·  Contains:  41 Ori A)  ·  41 Ori C  ·  41 Ori D  ·  42 Ori)  ·  43 Ori)  ·  44 Ori)  ·  46 Ori)  ·  48 Ori  ·  50 Ori)  ·  Flame Nebula  ·  Great Orion Nebula  ·  IC 420  ·  IC 431  ·  IC 432  ·  IC 434  ·  Lower Sword  ·  M 42  ·  M 43  ·  Mairan's Nebula  ·  NGC 1973  ·  NGC 1975  ·  NGC 1976  ·  NGC 1977  ·  NGC 1980  ·  NGC 1981  ·  NGC 1982  ·  NGC 2023  ·  NGC 2024  ·  Orion B  ·  Orion Nebula  ·  And 13 more.
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Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced, Patrick Zeller
Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced
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Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced, Patrick Zeller
Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced
Powered byPixInsight

Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

This is a cropped version of my widefield mosaic and HDR, including:
  • M42 - Orion Nebula
  • NGC 2024 - Flame Nebula
  • IC434 - Horsehead Nebula

Capturing
I used the Askar FRA300 for a flat field and wide view. My current setup with the ZWO 2600 DUO and AM3 is extremely mobile and fast.

As the latest Firmware from ZWO included finally increased FWC with GAIN -25, I used this option with 3-sec exposures to take the first round of the 2x2 mosaic. The idea was to get the most dynamic aus of Orion`s trapezium, which worked very well. With this short exposure, I took about 40 frames per mosaic piece.

Afterward, I took about 20x 180-sec exposers per panel with GAIN 100 to get more faint details of the region. I would have preferred to take more shots, but the night was moving on fast, and with it, Orion was moving closer and closer to the horizon. 

Processing - APP
I started with stacking each individual panel with Astro Pixel Processor, my personal choice for stacking and mosaic stitching. I did this for the first four panels with the GAIN -25 setting and the same for the last four panels with GAIN-100. Afterward, I dynamic-cropped each frame in Pixinsight. I progressed every single one in GraXpert to remove the gradient/light pollution, which was introduced by the low altitude close to the horizon. Then, I stitched the first four panels, followed by the second two.

Processing - Pixinsight
Within PI, I used one of my preferred workflows to progress the pictures. Color Calibration, Deconvolution, Stretching, Curves.... you name it. I worked on the clouds and stars separately and saved the final outcome in three files.
  • GAIN 100 - Stars
  • GAIN 100 - Nebulae
  • GAIN -25 - Nebulae


Processing - Photoshop
After loading all three images into PS, I made some final adjustments with the Nebulea layers by using the "Camera RAW" Filter. In my opinion, the easiest, fastest, and most comprehensive solution to quick-fix the final look. I added the high-dynamic Orion into the Nebulea background, which can be considered a form of HDR. It is actually not HRD throughout the whole frame, but especially for the Orion region. Adding the stars with negative multiplies reduces the opacity of the star layer to 80-90% for more highlights on the nebulae. 

SCNR

After uploading the picture to Astro-Bin, I noticed a green cast in the picture. Therefore, I ran SCNR within Pixinsight for the very final touch.

Not a Revision
For this cropped version, I selected a smaller field of view. It's not an easy decision as I love all of the dark clouds in this area. However, the highlights (Flame, Horsehead, Orion) felt lost to me in the large widefield.  I enhanced some of the colors and contrast to fit the new arrangement. Therefore I did intentional not upload it again as a revision but as a new picture. The source files are the same, but the final product is a totally different look and feel.

Comments

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Orion-, Horshead-, and Flame Nebulae - Widefield, Mosaic & HDR - Croped and Enhanced, Patrick Zeller