Embarking on a celestial odyssey, I recently ventured into the cosmos, capturing the Tadpoles Nebula and the Flaming Star Nebula in a mesmerising mosaic. These cosmic wonders, each possessing its own unique allure, beckon us to explore their intricate details. Join me as we unravel the mysteries of the Tadpoles and the Flaming Star, and discover why creating a mosaic was essential to capture the grandeur of these celestial marvels.
Nestled in the constellation Auriga, the Tadpoles Nebula (IC 410) (on the right of the image) is a stellar nursery where new stars are born amid clouds of gas and dust. Named for the tadpole-like structures visible in the nebula, these elongated formations are actually dense, dark interstellar clouds sculpted by the intense radiation and stellar winds from nearby young stars. The nebula also features a vibrant emission nebula illuminated by the energy of these stellar infants.
Moving our gaze to the neighboring constellation Auriga, we encounter the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405). Illuminated by the intense radiation of the bright star AE Aurigae, this emission and reflection nebula showcases a vivid interplay of colorful gases and dust. The striking contrast between the dark interstellar clouds and the radiant nebular glow creates a celestial masterpiece.
It is worth mentioning that although in our line of sight from Earth these two objects are next to one another this is an illusion, Flaming Star Nebula is 1,500 and Tadpoles Neb is 12,000 light years from us, i.e. Tadpoles is 8 times further away than the Flaming Star.
This image is made of two seperate panels roughly overlapping in the middle by about 20%. The overlap is important as it allows the software I use to identify the join by overlapping common points it can see in the image, in this case the stars down the centre vertical axis. The two panels where capture on the same night of the 10th of November 2023. The first 'panel' was capture prior to midnight and panel two after midnight. This was done to try and avoid big discrepancies in the background light polution and also to try and give similar amounts of exposure time to each panel, that said Panel 1 is 47 images of 5 minutes each and Panel 2 is 60 images of 5 minutes each. I used my Optolong L-Enhance filter for all the images.
Processing of each Panel is performed separately in terms. of pre-processing, the key is at the initial stretching phase when coming out of linear mode to make the two histograms peak around the same point, this way you are limiting any steps in gradient when it comes to the 'stitching' process.
I use an old Microsoft piece of software called Image Composite Editor, apparently this is no longer supported and was developed as a research project from Microsoft to allow users to create panoramas from multiple photos. After using this software you are presented with a single image which I saved off as Tiff and then completed my processing in Photoshop.
I rarely use Mosaics:-
During the capture and the processing of each panel to make mistakes / over-process. This leads to obvious steps in the image.
It is complex and time intensive to process
More than 3 or 4 panels would be very difficult as the time taken for the imaging across multiple nights for me would probably mean sky glow differences across the sessions would start to become problematic.
Why Mosaics?
Field of View: Nebulae often span large areas of the sky, requiring a wide field of view to capture their complete beauty. Mosaicking allows us to encompass the entirety of these expansive cosmic structures.
Detail Preservation: Each panel of the mosaic is a high-resolution image capturing intricate details within the nebula. Merging these panels ensures that the fine features and nuances of both the Tadpoles and Flaming Star Nebulae are preserved in the final composition.
Enhanced Resolution: Mosaicking improves the overall resolution of the final image. By combining multiple panels, we create a composite with greater clarity and sharpness, providing a more detailed and immersive view of the celestial landscape.