Horsehead M16
The Eagle Nebula
Horsehead

(Click on image for Full Resolution)

(Click here for the Ha image)

(Click here for a 1600 X 1069 size)

(Click here for the RRGB image)

(Click here to see my previous best effort on 09/08/2001)


Date: July 7, 2004
Exposure: HaRRGB : 13 x 180s R, 13 x 180s G, 12 x 300s B
Processing: CCDSoftV5 for image acquisition. MaxIm for image calibration,(15 flats each RGB, dark subtracted and median combined, 25 bias frames median combined, 15-1200s darks median combined). Dead/hot pixel removal, alignment, normalization, color combining, unsharp on R for Lum layer using CCDSharp 2 iterations. Photoshop CS for RRGB combine, final color balance and jpg conversion.
Conditions: Clear all night, Mag 4 Skies, transparency was poor due to hazy conditions, seeing was about average for here.
Scope: AP 180EDT @ f/9 on a Paramount ME, guiding was done with a Tak FSQ-106N and a ST-237A.
Camera: SBIG ST-10XME, -15°
Comments: Took this over two nights. All RGB data was collected on the west side of the meridian. The Ha data was collected on the east side (my most light polluted direction). The exposure times used gave just a small amount of blooming that didn't take much cleanup work. I decided to leave the ST-10XME "spikes" in, as IMHO, they don't cause too much distraction from the main image.