AstronomyUkraine Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I uploaded an image of IC 342 a few weeks back, and wasn't entirely happy with it. The top image is the original, the enhanced version underneath. With the reworked version, I removed stars from both the Lum and RGB images using Starnet++, saving the starmask from the RGB data. The better use of masks managed to tease out a bit more detail in the galaxy with the use of curves. When I was happy with the Lum and RGB data, I combined them using LRGBCombination. A little final tweaking with curves, and I integrated the StarMask from Starnet++ using a simple formula in PixelMath. All processing done in Pixinsight. Original IC 342 Reworked Version 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter shah Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I really like your first rendition.... The rework looks like the black point is slightly clipped losing the outer arms. Star colour is good in both images. I hope this doesn't offend as that is not my intention. It might be a simple case your monitor is calibrated differently to mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkulin Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Yes Brian, I have to agree with Peter, its a bloody difficult galaxy to capture clearly because it is so close to the MW, but I think you have done an excellent job in the first image, the galaxy in the second image is lovely, you just need to knock the background back. I always think of the hidden Galaxy as if you were looking through net curtains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstronomyUkraine Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 56 minutes ago, peter shah said: I really like your first rendition.... The rework looks like the black point is slightly clipped losing the outer arms. Star colour is good in both images. I hope this doesn't offend as that is not my intention. It might be a simple case your monitor is calibrated differently to mine. Just checked, the black isn't clipped. I didn't stretch it enough. I just stretched it slightly, and the arms came back. I don't mind constructive criticism at all. It's the only way to learn.😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gina Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Very nice 👍👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstronomyUkraine Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 13 minutes ago, Jkulin said: Yes Brian, I have to agree with Peter, its a bloody difficult galaxy to capture clearly because it is so close to the MW, but I think you have done an excellent job in the first image, the galaxy in the second image is lovely, you just need to knock the background back. I always think of the hidden Galaxy as if you were looking through net curtains. You are both right. I was a little conservative with my stretching. The black wasn't clipped, I was trying to stop the core from blowing out. Anyway after a quick tweak. I think I brought the arms back a little. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkulin Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 8 minutes ago, AstronomyUkraine said: I don't mind constructive criticism at all. It's the only way to learn.😀 I hope I didn't offend Brian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gina Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Lovely 👍👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkulin Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Just now, AstronomyUkraine said: You are both right. I was a little conservative with my stretching. The black wasn't clipped, I was trying to stop the core from blowing out. Anyway after a quick tweak. I think I brought the arms back a little. Star colours are lovely Brian, and as I said the images I have seen of this don't come close to your excellent capture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstronomyUkraine Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 1 minute ago, Jkulin said: I hope I didn't offend Brian? Take a lot more than useful criticism to offend me. 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstronomyUkraine Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 1 minute ago, Jkulin said: Star colours are lovely Brian, and as I said the images I have seen of this don't come close to your excellent capture. Thanks John. I would like to add more data to it. I only had 1.5 hours of RGB with each filter, and 3 hours of Lum data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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