rbrecher

No, per my post above, the drizzle made very little difference, which is not surprising since the data was not very under sampled. What made the huge difference was my image processing skill, which has evolved considerably in the last three years.

The grey skies continue, so I am continuing to process older data with new techniques. The data for this image was acquired in 2013 and the version I posted then got published a few times. However, I think this version is much better (galaxy is longer, wider and shows more detail, background is brighter revealing many faint galaxies in the field, colours are more subtle). Unfortunately, there's something funky going on with the stars. I think there was some miscollimation at the time. I controlled it as well as I could without making the stars look unnatural. A cool aspect of this image is that I used Drizzle integration in PixInsight to make the masters. I did this in parallel with a regular (i.e. non-Drizzle) integration. The Drizzle version shows marginally more detail when viewed side by side at the same size on my 27" iMac. http://astrodoc.ca/ngc891 The 2013 version is also linked on the website, for those who want to compare. Clear skies, Ron

It's been more than 8 weeks with but a single clear (moonlit) night, and I am really going a little crazy. But I do have workshops to prepare for, and I guess the poor weather is making it easier to find time for that. I'm still reprocessing good, older data and today pulled up M11. There is a link to the older version on my website, in case anyone is interested to see how my processing has changed. http://astrodoc.ca/m11/ Clear skies, Ron

Continuing through my 2012 archives, I unearthed 51 minutes of mediocre data (just 5 or 6x3m frames per channel). I can't even begin to count the number of problems the data had - haze, clouds, oblong stars, imperfect flats, light pollution gradients. I used every trick in my book to clean it up and got, I think, a very respectable result. Go easy on me LOL! http://astrodoc.ca/m35 Clear skies, Ron

I imaged NGC7789 back in 2012, but have reprocessed it using my recent workflow. A mere 63 minutes of integration time in moderate moonlight went into this pic. Thanks for looking! http://astrodoc.ca/ngc7789/ Clear skies, Ron

An oldie but a goodie. I acquired the data for this in 2012, but my image processing workflow has changed so much since then that I think I need to redo several of my globulars from that time. This is the first, M13. Enjoy... http://astrodoc.ca/m13 Clear skies, Ron

This mosaic shows the region around gamma Cygni. I acquired the data more than 3 years ago, but didn't really have the skill to process it until recently. I used the relatively new GradientMergeMosiac tool in PixInsight to get seamless joining of panes. http://astrodoc.ca/ic1318 Clear skies, Ron

Happy New Year all. This is my first post for 2016. It's a little more than 17 hr of integration time in HaRGB. The image shows the eastern third of the soul nebula. I also made a black and white version using just the H-alpha data, which can show more detail. Both images and full processing details are posted here: http://astrodoc.ca/w5e/ Clear skies and Happy New Year, Ron

My recent collaboration on M33 with Terry Hancock​ appears in this week's Cosmic Pursuits email and on their website. Original full size image available from astrodoc.ca/m33/. You can browse recent articles or sign up for the free weekly newsletter at cosmicpursuits.com. Happy New Year everyone. Be safe. Be happy. Be kind. Clear skies, Ron

When the skies are cloudy for more than a month, as they have been for me, astronomers can get pretty demoralized. But today I got a nice pick-me-up: My image of LDN1251 is the Amateur Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 30th. You can click on the the thumbnail to see a screenshot of the AAPOD page with my photo. There are many interesting pics at this site; well worth checking from time to time to see some great shots from amateurs from all over the world. There are clear nights in the forecast, but not for another 4 or 5 days yet... Original post: astrodoc.ca/ldn1251/ AAPOD screenshot: http://astrodoc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/AAPOD-Dec-30-2015.png Happy New Year to all! Thanks for all your feedback through your replies to my posts and at astrodoc.ca during 2015! Clear skies, Ron

Warren Keller and I collaborated to make this image. My colour data was combined with Warren’s H-alpha data, and processed jointly in PixInsight. astrodoc.ca/ic410 Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! Clear skies, Ron

Terry Hancock​ and I collaborated to make this image. Terry acquired all the colour and H-alpha data using his refractor, and I collected the luminance data with my ASA 10N at f/6.8. Each of us produced several versions of the image, which were then blended to produce this result. We’ve already started discussing our next project together. I hope you enjoy this image of this iconic galaxy. astrodoc.ca/m33/ Clear skies, Ron​

Very nice image. I find L isn't usually needed if you have plenty of HaRGB data. I usually make a synthetic luminance channel, even if I have "real" luminance data.

Woohoo! Two of my pics are in the Nov and Dec 205 Chinese National Astronomy Magazine: astrodoc.ca/sh2-124-emission-nebula-colour/ and http://astrodoc.ca/ngc7538-region/. The beauty of space transcends culture and language - luckily for me! Clear skies, Ron

thanks guys!

I came across an image of this nebula by Adam Block (http://annesastronomynews.com/photo-gallery-ii/nebulae-clouds/ic-417-by-adam-block/), and it really blew me away. I decided to try to image it myself, and spent about three weeks acquiring the 17 hr of data used for the image. There's a lot going on in this field: emission and reflection nebulae, dark regions, gas and dust. I love these busy regions. Object, acquisition and processing details with the photo. Thanks for looking! http://astrodoc.ca/ic417/ Clear skies, Ron

This image includes a total of 10 hr of integration time through red, green and blue filters. I usually add in some H-alpha data for nebula shots, but I didn't this time, opting instead to use only RGB. This approach preserves the subtle colour differences around this pretty field. astrodoc.ca/sh2-157/ Complete processing details are provided with the image. Clear skies, Ron

The Cave Nebula, Sh2-155, contains red emission nebulae, yellow and blue reflection nebulae, dark nebulae and many colourful stars. astrodoc.ca/sh2-155/ Enjoy! Clear skies, Ron

Inspired by the amazing images of this area by other members of some astronomy groups that I belong to, I went after LDN1251 myself. Most of the images I've seen show a relatively wide field; mine is shot with a narrower view (1700 mm f.l. and a STL-11000 camera). The little galaxy at the bottom reminds me of M33 - my next target! http://astrodoc.ca/ldn1251/ Clear skies, Ron

I started imaging IC1795 a couple of months ago, in the hours before dawn after imaging my main targets. I acquired 14 hr HaRGB data over about 10 nights this way. I've posted both colour and H-alpha versions here: http://astrodoc.ca/ic1795/ Click on the images in the post to open the full-res versions. Clear skies, Ron

Congratulations to you! Clear skies, Ron

My image of the Owl Cluster (NGC457) from Dec. 2014 is Picture of the Day at Astronomy Magazine online. This is one of my favourite open clusters. Full size image and details are here, along with an image of the Astronomy Online web page. Thanks, as always to Michael Bakich, for selecting my images to share. http://astrodoc.ca/ngc457-e-t-cluster/ Clear skies, Ron

Thanks very much!

I’m pleased to report that my image of IC5068 is todays AAPOD! You can see it here (click on the thumbnail): http://astrodoc.ca/ic5068-emission-nebula/ AAPOD posts a different amateur image each day, and you can see past images here: http://www.aapodx2.com/2015/2015.html Clear skies, Ron

This image of the NGC281 has almost 26 hr of HaRGB data included. There is also an Ha-only version, and one of my previous attempts on this object. Enjoy! http://astrodoc.ca/ngc-281-the-pacman-nebula-colour/ Clear skies, Ron