Pacman Nebula using HaRGB processing

I completed my first HaRGB image.  For those not in the know, that is combining Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) exposures with regular color (RGB) exposures.  I pretty much followed the method described in detail by Trevor Jones from Astrobackyard.com (HaRGB Tutorial).  Since he already went over what to do I will just show you my results and give you my thoughts.  Long and short, my results are not as good as I had hoped.  I was expecting better Ha detail but this may be due to my inexperience with Ha-processing.  However, the results are promising and I should improve with more experience.  The other thing is it was really cool shooting a nebula during nearly full moon, I really enjoyed that and just being able to shoot exposures when the moon is out is worth perfecting this technique.

The following are my results:

Image 1 is the normal color (RGB) image which consists of 81 x 90 second exposures over two days stacked using DSS.  There were 10 darks, 10 bias, and 14 flats taken each night for support.

Image 2 is the Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) image which consists of 38 x 180 second exposures over two days stacked using DSS.  Again, there were 10 darks, 10 bias, and 14 flats taken each night for support.

Image 3 is the HaR image (Ha + red channel RGB) produced by copying the red channel RGB on to the Ha image.

Image 4 is the enhanced RGB image.  An HaR image (Ha + red channel RGB) is produced and copied into back into the red channel of the RGB image.

Image 5 is the final HaRGB (enhanced RGB + HaR).

Image 6 is the new final HaRGB using a new H-alpha processed image (Ha-nebula portion merged with RGB star field).

NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula-Ha
Location: Home Monroe, CT
Date: 11-06-17, 11-08-17
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i(a), Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600mm
f/7.5
Focal Reducer: Orion 0.8x Focal Reducer for Refractor Telescopes
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ
Filter: Astrodon UV/IR, Astronomik Ha Clip-filter
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: 12 x 180s, 26 x 180s
ISO: 1600
Temp: 10 C, 10 C
Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Lightroom, Gradient Exterminator, Astronomy Tools.
https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/

NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula-RGB
Location: Home Monroe, CT
Date: 11-13-17, 11-16-17
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i(a), Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600mm
f/7.5
Focal Reducer: Orion 0.8x Focal Reducer for Refractor Telescopes
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ
Filter: Astrodon UV/IR
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: 39 x 90s, 43 x 90s
ISO: 1600
Temp: 10 C, 10 C
Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Lightroom, Gradient Exterminator, Astronomy Tools.
https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/