Dust in the Milkyway:

Horizon to Horizon

Uploaded 7/19/06

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 Using a special processing technique, we have modified the original image, seen as the center panel such that all of the local stars have been removed to reveal what lies underneath. Once the multitudes of countless stars have been peeled away, what we can now see easily is the huge number of complex and interconnected dark nebula stretching across the entire sky, with the glow of the Milkyway galaxy as a backdrop. Numerous small nebula appear as detached ink drops, while many of the larger nebula take on a very structured form. While our representation produced here is not perfect, it suggests a far more complex series of dark structures visible in the night sky which can be further pursued by astrophotographers and visual observers alike.

A write up may follow soon on the unusual path we took in processing this image, and what we can actually reveal fully with this technique.

Instrument: Canon 17 - 40mm L @ 17mm stopped to f/4.5 Platform: Robotic Barn Door Camera: Canon 10D @ ISO800 Exposure: 10m x 4 Filters: UV Location: Near Winton, Queensland, Australia Elevation: 700 ft. Sky: Seeing 9/10, Transparency 10/10 Outside Temperature: 50F Processing Tools: Photoshop CS, Maxim DL, PixInsight, Pixmantec RAW HOME GALAXIES EMISSION NEBS REFLECTION NEBS COMETS GLOBULARS OPEN CLUST PLANETARIES LINKS FastCounter by bCentral