M44 - The Beehive Cluster

[Noel Carboni]

The Bees posed for my chief collaborator, Greg Parker, to capture their photo on March 9.

26 subs at 400 seconds each with Starlight Xpress SXVF-M25C 6 megapixel RGB camera, through Takahashi Sky-90 telescope with f/4.5 focal length reducer.

This is a center crop of the full image, which is quite a wide field. Be sure and click on the image to see the high resolution version. There are a few small galaxies in the background as well.

http://www.ourdarkskies.com/gallery2/d/1020-2/M44_Greg_Noel_Small.jpg (http://www.ourdarkskies.com/gallery2/d/1017-1/M44_Greg_Noel_Small.jpg)

-Noel

[h0ughy]

lots of lovely colours in that star field shot. Very Nice:welldone:

[Radar]

Wow!

Well it's official, that's the best Beehive I've ever seen. Love the galaxies in the background.

Are those spikes natural Noel?

[Noel Carboni]

Thanks. :)


Are those spikes natural Noel?

That's a high compliment indeed. Thanks! No, they're digitally added. Just a slight modification with a curves operation on the spikes my actions generate, plus some additional color saturation.

-Noel

[Dusty]

It's a magnificent image indeed, superb work Noel.

I'm going to be honest though, please don't hold this against me.
I don't like the fake spikes on images.
Usually when I do DSO work thru my refractor and I want spikes, I use some fishing line, but only seldom and only on select objects.
The computer generated spikes just don't appeal to me, but it's only a personal choice.

You're work is fantastic as always !

:thumbsupmate:

[Noel Carboni]

Thanks for your honest opinion Dusty.

That says to me I haven't got them realistic looking enough yet. ;)

You might like this one, then:

http://www.ourdarkskies.com/gallery2/d/1030-2/M44_Greg_Noel_Small_No_Spikes.jpg (http://www.ourdarkskies.com/gallery2/d/1027-1/M44_Greg_Noel_Small_No_Spikes.jpg)

-Noel

[wakaleo]

Aww, Noel, you'll have to stop posting such beautiful shots! My keyboard is playing up from me drooling over it! ;)

Spikes on the stars suit some images, but it can easily appear overdone (bit too Disneyland, if you get my drift).

Noel, has anyone tried using your Astronomy Tools in Gimp 2? Some Photoshop plug-ins can be used in Gimp and others cannot. If there is the least chance that they'll work, I'll buy them.

[Noel Carboni]

Thanks, wakaleo,

My actions will only work in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

-Noel

[Draig]

Hi Noel,

Lovely images :welldone: .

I think I'll go with the majority on this and say I prefer the image without the "spikes".

Cheers Colin

[Radar]

I think the spikes look better. :pipethinker:

[Dusty]

Thanks for your honest opinion Dusty.

That says to me I haven't got them realistic looking enough yet. ;)

You might like this one, then:

http://www.ourdarkskies.com/gallery2/d/1030-2/M44_Greg_Noel_Small_No_Spikes.jpg (http://www.ourdarkskies.com/gallery2/d/1027-1/M44_Greg_Noel_Small_No_Spikes.jpg)

-Noel

Yes I like it better, but you've done marvelous work in both versions mate.
I've bought your product last year and find it very useful indeed.

:thumbsupmate:

[Mick]

A beautiful image of a lovely cluster, nice work Noel. :cool!:

[AstroTasmania]

Hi Noel,

Beautiful shot of an object always low down in my skies. The colours and separation between the bright and faint stars is just magic - these are quality images to aim for. The faint galaxy to the left of centre is visible even in the small image.

Thanks for sharing.

Clear skies...