M42 (IR 3 color)

M42 (IR 3 color)

Messier: 42
NGC: 1976
Right Ascension: 5hr 35.4m
Declination: -5° 27'
Apparent Magnitude: 4

Date: October 2009
Equipment:
Telescope: Meade 16" Schmidt Cassegrain with f6.3 reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-10XE
Guiding: Meade 5" refractor/DSI Pro/PHD
Filters: AstroDon IR, 700-800,800-900,900+.

Exposure:
Luminance: 20x3s binned 1x1
Red: 900+nm, 15x5s, binned 2x2
Green: 800-900nm 15x5s, binned 2x2
Blue: 700-800nm 15x5s, binned 2x2

Processing Notes: All data was captured using CCDSoft. The data was reduced and aligned in CCDStack. Individual colors were combined in Sigma Beta, and saved as 32bit FITs. Files were imported to AstroArt, a log stretch was applied, and then they were individually saved as TIFF(view) files and imported into Photoshop. The separate channels were stretched to achieve similar histograms, and then combined as an RGB image. Dim areas got a gaussian blur. The luminance was combined as the bottom layer, with a middle "multiply" layer, and a top "color" layer. The image was then flattened and final adjustments were made.
Scale: 1.01

Additional Comments: More M42 images are available by searching this site for M42. RGB Color, IR 3 color, and individual narrow band channels are shown.

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