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17 x 7-min ISO 1600 autoguided exposures, taken over 2 sessions; astro-modified Canon 600D and Sky-Watcher ED 80mm f/6.25 telescope.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
One of these guys must be Sid Fishes. These guys have not gotten much purchase yet and they seem to be just the average instead of fancy polloi and new. After following some of the paths that are scattered about the Denve Botanic Gardens, I found a spot where they were watering, a good thing on the Colorado plains. It's clear that pool in furnishing some life in this rock and one crusty branch, garden. They especially like water plants at the Denver Botanical Gardens. Here some fringe the pool. It looks like that I am getting closer to botanical, and fish, shots finally. Egad, I have a real load of garden shots to edit. There are over 200 snaps in the directory.
So I followed the original path and in my wanderings, I mostly found loads of people. I suppose I ought to snap more of the biotonics that cover Denver's gardens. Well, this shows some green as a change up. Always the question is whether this is simply art or making visitors head for the John themselves? Well, at least this is green and I snapped away. Next?
This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek, this time down to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This path shouts that upkeep here is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I get distracted. Art in the park indeed.
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were plants, displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz and focusing in to removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in this series like I usually do?
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie to the Rockies. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film card for the first time ever. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled.
9 x 4-min ISO 3200 autoguided exposures; astro-modified Canon 600D and Meade ED 127mm f/7.5 telescope.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by light pollution.
A problem-strewn imaging session meant I didn't get many guided frames, and had to make do with unguided frames at very high ISO instead. There's also tilt in the imaging train, leading to bloated stars towards bottom right. Still, the result was better than feared!
Just 4 x 4-minute autoguided ISO 1600 and 21 x 1-minute unguided ISO 6400 exposures; astro-modified Canon 600D and Meade ED 127mm f/7.5 telescope.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by light pollution.
31 x 1-minute ISO 3200 unguided exposures. Astro-modified Canon 600D and Revelation 12" Newtonian reflector telescope.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
This was my first auto-guided image, but unfortunately the frame had a tilt issue due to the sensor not being perfectly square with the imaging train. I've cropped out the worst of it though.
10 x 3-min ISO 3200 exposures; astro-modified Canon 600D and Sky-Watcher ED 80mm f/6.25 telescope, piggybacked on a Celestron C8 telescope for auto-guiding.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
Blog for betrayal ♡
Brickell yacht ride scene
Front and back scene
Materials enabled versions
Removable background scenery create your own
Sizable
Taxi at tres chic
Just 19 x 1-minute ISO 6400 unguided exposures. Astro-modified Canon 600D and Revelation 12" Newtonian reflector telescope.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
This is my most ambitious astrophotography project yet, coming in at over 110 hours 18 minutes of total exposure time (albeit across 12 panels), beating out my previous record of [101 hours on the Elephant Trunk Nebula](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/zoiqhj/the_ele...)
The [12 panel mosaic](i.imgur.com/ttLXutl.png) ended up being 518 megapixels in size after cropping, and was an absolute bitch to process. probably never gonna do a mosaic this big again unless I have some quantum supercomputer. I don't have any way to reliably host this on my flickr page, so the image you're seeing is a 2X downsample.
Captured over 35 nights from October 2022 through March 2023, from my Bortle 8apartment balcony
> could only do 4 hours max per night thanks to [my wonderful horizons](i.imgur.com/hOGPZt6.png) from the balcony overhang
---
**[Equipment:](i.imgur.com/ejpKkwU.jpg)**
* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian
* Orion Sirius EQ-G
* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector
* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm
* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm
* Astrodon 31mm Ha 5nm, Oiii 3nm, Sii 5nm
* Agena 50mm Deluxe Straight-Through Guide Scope
* ZWO ASI-120mc for guiding
* Moonlite Autofocuser
**Acquisition:** 110 hours 18 minutes (Camera at -15°C)
> all narrowband exposures were 360" and unity gain
> all broadband exposures were 30" and at half unity gain
|Filter|Ha|Oiii|Sii|Red|Green|Blue|
:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|
|**Panel 1**|30|28|19|24|24|24|
|**Panel 2**|30|27|19|32|32|32|
|**Panel 3**|30|29|29|24|24|24|
|**Panel 4**|34|31|30|24|24|24|
|**Panel 5**|30|34|29|24|24|24|
|**Panel 6**|34|31|29|24|24|24|
|**Panel 7**|33|30|29|24|24|24|
|**Panel 8**|39|27|29|24|24|24|
|**Panel 9**|26|28|28|32|32|32|
|**Panel 10**|32|29|30|24|24|24|
|**Panel 11**|34|20|19|28|28|28|
|**Panel 12**|30|22|19|24|24|24|
|**TOTAL: (h)**|**38.2**|**30.8**|**33.6**|**2.56**|**2.56**|**2.56**|
* Darks- 30
* Flats- 30 per filter
**Capture Software:**
* Captured using [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu) and PHD2 for guiding and dithering.
**PixInsight processing:**
> /u/Aerions_'s [Heart and Fishhead pic](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/y3jxc3/the_hea...) was a bit of an inspiration for me when processing this (and imo their colors are better)
**Preprocessing**
* BatchPreProcessing
* StarAlignment
* [Blink](youtu.be/sJeuWZNWImE?t=40)
* ImageIntegration per channel per panel
* DrizzleIntegration (2x, Var β=1.5) per panel per channel
**Creating the mosaic:**
> I had *numerous* other attempts to make this using microsoft ICE and mosaicbycoordinates/photometricmosaic, but they all refused to work that well. During this process I found out that the .tiff file format has a max size of around 530 megapixels
* StarGenerator to generate a starfield of the region at the same image scale as my drizzled images
* StarAlignment to align each drizzled stack to the synthetic starfield
> despite reading all the documentation and tinkering with every setting, my blue stars channel for panel 11 refused to align properly with any of the other channels, so the stars here are a bit mismatched
* GradientMergeMosaic to combine these aligned panels into the master stacks
* DynamicCrop away the edges of each master
**Narrowband Linear:**
* DynamicBackground Extraction
> duplicated each image and removed stars via StarXterminator. Ran DBE with a shitload of points to generate background model. model subtracted from original pic using the following PixelMath (thanks, /u/jimmythechicken1!)
> $T * med(model) / model
* BlurXTerminator
* StarXterminator to completely remove stars (narrowband images will be starless processed for almost the rest of the workflow)
* NoiseXterminator
* HistogramTransformations to bring nonlinear
> More agressive stretch for Oiii and Sii
**RGB Linear:**
* ChannelCombination to combine R G and B masters into a color image
* SpectrophotometricColorCalibration
* HSV Repair
* StarXterminator to make a stars only image (this stars only image to be used going forward)
* AcrsinhStretch + HistogramTransformation to stretch nonlinear
**Nonlinear:**
> did this over the course of a couple weeks/processing breaks so the details aren't *exact*
* PixelMath to combine stretched narrowband masters into color image
> SHO --> RGB (classic Hubble Palette)
* HistogramTransformations to adjust channel intensities
* [Curve](i.imgur.com/vfdQhoZ.jpg)Transformations for slight hue adjustments
* LRGBCombination using stretched Ha as luminance
* shitloads of CurveTransformations to adjust hue, lightness, saturation, etc. (some with lum masks)
* invert > SCNR > invert to remove background magentas
* probably used BackgroundNeutralization at some point around here too
* LocalHistogramEqualization
> Two round of this: one at kernel radius 16 for the finer 'feathery' details and one at 200+ for larger structures
* more curves!
* NoiseXterminator
* more histogramtransformation tweaks
* DarkStructureEnhance
* Relinearized narrowband and stars images to add in the RGB stars
> "unstretched" both images with histogramtransformation midtones set to 0.9999
> pixelmath to just add those two images together
> histogramtransformation to un-relinearize them by setting midtones to 0.0001
* ColorSaturation
* MLT for chrominance noise reduction
* final round of noiseX
* guess what baby more curves
* one final round of DBE to remove a small red gradient in the bottom corner that made it through to the end somehow
> just to please Jimmy
* IntegerResample to 50%
* annotation
Playing with Lightroom's updated "People" detection features to remove background distractions. Used sparingly it can be useful.
My first successful panorama/combination of the Milky Way. Shot on 3/20/2021.
A couple of lessons I learned. A few shots of each would have been suffice. That way the images would have been closer together time wise. Also, as I’m new to both Lightroom and Photoshop, I have a lot to learn with regards to editing, removing background, combining images…
Equipment:
Nikon Ha Mod D5300
Rokinon F2.8 14mm
Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Pro
Acquisition: Bortles 4 Location
Background
Three images of Ten shots at 90 secs stacked in Sequator. ISO 800, F2.8, 14mm. Plus Darks and Bias
Foreground
Three single images shot at 5 secs, ISO 1600, F3.2, 14mm
Processing
Software: Sequator, Lightroom, Photoshop, GIMP
Both images stitched in Lightroom. BG adjusted in PS, slight curve adjustments, small stretch, color balanced. Stars reduced in Gimp. FG color adjusted/balanced in PS. BG and FG combined in PS.
Any comments/suggestions appreciated
I have updated the cutwater portion to give it more of a Viking ship look. An extra rigging and moved the oars lower. That will have to do for tonight. It's 1 am and time for bed.
update: removed background
Never ending story, processing our neighbour galaxy. This time i put more effort in removing background gradients (2 hours) to have a more homogenous background.
I'm officially apologizing for the last title. I already posted a couple of views of this scene and the koi at the Denver Botanic Gardens but I thought I'd add a scene of the entire setting and the work the conservators did in building their various and well-realized settings. They are everywhere you turn. No wonder they charge an entry fee for everyone, even Denverites.
I bet they have to feed these koi but maybe they feed mostly on visitors' Cheetos? After following some of the paths that are scattered about the Denver Botanic Gardens, I found a spot of heavy watering, a good thing on the Colorado plains. It's clear that the watercourse and pool are furnishing life in this rock garden. They especially like water plantings at the Denver Botanical Gardens. It looks like I am getting closer to botanical, and fish, shots like this. Egad, I have a real load of garden shots to edit with over 200 snaps in the directory, let alone for everything else in my massive stash.
So I followed the original path and in my wanderings, I mostly found loads of prople. This shows a change up from earlier snaps. Always the question is whether this is simply art or making visitors head for the John? Well, at least this is green and I snapped away. Next?
This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek, this time down to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This path shouts that upkeep here is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I get distracted. Art in the park indeed.
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were plants, displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz and focusing in to removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later when I change interests in this series like I usually do.
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie to the Rockies. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film card for the first time ever. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled anyway.
IC1396 is a massive emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus. This nebula is so large I couldn't even fit the entire structure within my frame, yet you could easily fit 5 full moons across this image from our perspective. Within this nebula are tendrils of dark dust and most noticeably the "Elephant's Trunk" sprawling out near the bottom of the image. Ionized Sulfur, Hydrogen, and Oxygen molecules within the nebula were mapped respectively to Red, Green, and Blue to create this false-color image.
Equipment:
OTA: William Optics GT81 w/0.8x reducer (382mm fl at f/4.7)
74mm aperture stop-down ring (brings scope to f/5.2)
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G (HEQ-5)
Guidescope: Orion 50mm guidescope
Guiding camera: Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
Accessories:
DeepSkyDad Autofocuser AF1
QHYCCD PoleMaster
Software:
SGP
PHD2
CdC
PixInsight
Acquisition:
Location: Flower Mound, TX (Bortle 7)
Dates: 7/17/19, 7/18/19, 7/19/19, 7/20/19, 8/10/19, 8/11/19, 8/12/19
Gain: 200 Offset: 50
Camera temp: -10C
Ha: 396x180" Astrodon 5nm
SII: 49x600" Astrodon 3nm
OIII: 51x600" Astrodon 3nm
Total integration time: 36hr 28min
64x darks per calibration (master from library)
30x flats per calibration
200x bias per calibration (master from library)
Preprocessing:
Batch PreProcessing script to generate calibrated images
StarAlignment
LocalNormalization
ImageIntegration
DrizzleIntegration
DynamicCrop
DBE
Luminance Processing:
Duplicated the master Ha to use as the luminance
Deconvolution
ArcsinhStretch and HistogramTransformation to bring to non-linear
ExponentialTransformation to push nebulosity
LocalHistogramEqualization
MultiscaleLinearTransform for sharpening
HistogramTransformation
Preparing separate Sii, Ha, and Oiii linear masters for tonemapping (applied to each master individually):
TGV & MMT noise reduction (via Jon Rista's method)
ArcsinhStretch and HistogramTransformation to bring to non-linear
Removed stars via StarNet++
Further removed background artifacts with MMT
DBE on the SII and OIII channel to help corners
LinearFit to Ha
Combined prepared Sii, Ha, and Oiii masters with ChannelCombination:
R: Sii
G: Ha
B: Oiii
Tonemap Processing:
HistogramTransformation to balance channels
Several a/b channel CurvesTransformations using ColorMasks to alter the colors to an aesthetically pleasing palette
MMT to heavily noise reduce any artifacts
CurvesTransformations to fix the over saturation near the bright stars.
Combined Tonemap with Luminance using LRGBCombination:
CurvesTransformation for contrast
MorphologicalTransformation for slight star reduction
UnsharpMask with a StarMask to harden up the soft stars a tad
HistogramTransformation to pull the white point in a little
CurvesTransformation with a red ColorMask to help reduce reds in the corners
Resampled to 30% for web posting
Now we're getting somewhere. After following some of the paths that are scattered about the Denver Botanic Gardens, I found a spot where they were watering, a good thing on the Colorado plains. It's clear that these cascading plants like their cascading water in this cascading rock garden. They especially like water plants at the Denver Botanical Gardens. Here are some along with other ground plantings. It looks like that I am getting closer to botanical shots finally. Egad, I have a real load of garden shots to edit. There are over 200 snaps in the directory.
I suppose I ought to snap some of the biotonics that cover Denver's gardens before too darn long. Well, this shows some green as a change up. Always the question is whether this is simply art or trickles making visitors head for the? Well, at least this is green and I snapped away. Next?
This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek, this time down to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This path shouts that upkeep here is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I get distracted. Art in the park indeed.
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were plants, displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz and focusing in to removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in this series like I usually do?
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie yesterday to the hills. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film carsd for the first time every. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled.
I figure that Arnie Schwartzennegger gave that title especially to me to butcher. I figure that it's mine now but it surely fits my concept. These hasta plantings certainly jump with handsprings of color, even without an orange hasta in tribute to the idiotocracy, Arnie. This is a multi-colored group that seems willing to exist together. These guys can be found in shady gardens all over the territory. These hasta surely don't need flowers to be showy especially when in a grouping like this. Someone must pay attetion to all the various plant needs and wants around here in order to maximize the displays. Dillon, Bob Zimmerman, said it best, "You know what you want, but I know what you need." I like this cluster.
This is in tribute to eDDie who traveled from Loveland especially to reboot my butt even if I re-engage somewhat slowly. We are largely without e-mail with eDDie on FaceBroke and me, refusing to be a Trumpanzie or Zucker... Maya Angelou: When someone shows you what they are, believe them!
Originally it seemed that I shot everything but the flowers at Denver Botanic gardens. I decided to make a series of some of my showy botanic shots for another series. I followed many of the paths scattered about the Denver Botanic Gardens, even eDDie once in a while, and I found this along one of them but then I was starting to sag. This perked my up again. I still have lots of unedited garden shots hanging around. Some at a time. Some at a time.
Well, this is some of the jumping color I snapped. It's loaded.
This is yet another from an early summer eDDie trek to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed it untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This shouts that upkeep at the gardens is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I ever get distracted.
Trekkers and lookie-loos packed and poked every path and display making clean shots more difficult. There were plants, displays and art in the park everywhere, keeping me abuzz and focusing in to removing background peeps. This shows that I actually got to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in another series like I usually do? As you can see from my steam, I make treks all over the place, gathering new captures as I can.
Image on the right is a vintage B&W calendar that I gessoed and then painted (removed background buildings, boats in the foreground, and added the trees).
I followed some paths at the Denver Botanic Gardens and I found a spot where a stone wall was crumbling down the slope. Egad, this could use some serious attention! A slip could happen on this shattered riprap. It's clear that this wall is disintegating and the plants aren't holding the crumbling rock wall back. Those cave men could slip on the shale while looking at flowers at the Gardens and scouting bathrooms...
This must be the first of my edits showing some plantings at the Denver Botonic Gardens among the curious I found everywhere about.
So I followed the original path and in my wandering, I mostly found loads of people and started looking for the bathroom myself. I suppose I ought to snap some of the biotonics that cover Denver's gardens before the series stretches too too far. Well, this too shows some green as a change up. Always the question is whether this is art among the plants? If so, it took some serious work. Well, at least this has green and I snapped away. Next?
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were plants, displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz at removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in this series like I usually do?
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie yesterday to the hills. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film card for the first time every. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled.
There are a lot of names for this intricate nebula, however none of them really seem to fit the bill. "The Lobster Nebula" as well as the "War and Peace Nebula" are used often but I personally see a scorpion with raised claws and a faint curved tail. Not to mention this nebula resides in the constellation Scorpius, a fitting home. So hear me out astronomical community and lets make this happen!
In this false-color narrowband image, I display the Sulphur and Hydrogen emissions as the warm red-orange colors and the Oxygen emissions as the teal-blue range. I typically save narrowband imaging for home, but since this target never rose above 22° I used my dark site's unobstructed view to capture this nebula. In the core of this nebula lie some of the most massive stars known, and the surrounding nebulosity shows off a chaotic display of gas and dark dust.
Equipment:
OTA: William Optics GT81 w/0.8x reducer (382mm fl at f/4.7)
74mm aperture stop-down ring (brings scope to f/5.2)
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G (HEQ-5)
Guidescope: Orion 50mm guidescope
Guiding camera: Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
Accessories:
QHYCCD PoleMaster
Software:
SGP
PHD2
CdC
PixInsight
Starnet++
Acquisition:
Location: Atoka, OK (Bortle 3)
Dates: 5/31/19, 6/26/19, 6/27/19
Gain: 200 Offset: 50
Camera temp: -10C
Sii: 34x300" Astrodon 3nm
Ha: 35x300" Astrodon 5nm
Oiii: 33x300" Astrodon 3nm
Total integration time: 8hr 30min
64x darks per calibration (master from library)
30x flats per calibration
200x bias per calibration (master from library)
Preprocessing:
Batch PreProcessing script to generate calibrated images
StarAlignment
LocalNormalization
ImageIntegration
DynamicCrop each master
DBE each master
Luminance Processing:
Duplicated the master Ha to use as the luminance
Deconvolution
TGV noise reduction (via Jon Rista's method)
ArcsinhStretch and HistogramTransformation to bring to non-linear
HDRMultiscaleTransform to reveal core
LocalHistogramEqualization
MultiscaleLinearTransform for sharpening
CurvesTransformation for slight contrast
Preparing separate Sii, Ha, and Oiii linear masters for tonemapping (applied to each master individually):
TGV & MMT noise reduction (via Jon Rista's method)
ArcsinhStretch and HistogramTransformation to bring to non-linear
Removed stars via StarNet++
Further removed background artifacts with MMT
Combined prepared Sii, Ha, and Oiii masters with ChannelCombination:
R: Sii
G: Ha
B: Oiii
Tonemap Processing:
Invert>SCNR Green>Invert to remove magenta
DBE to help with uneven color casts
Several a/b channel CurvesTransformations using ColorMasks to alter the colors to an aesthetically pleasing palette
CurvesTransformation for saturation
CurvesTransformation for slight contrast
Combined Tonemap with Luminance using LRGBCombination
CurvesTransformation to balance background color
MorphologicalTransformation for slight star reduction
UnsharpMask with a StarMask to harden up the soft stars a tad
So I followed the path and in my wandering, I found a bench to sit, rest and contemplate this dead shrub? I suppose I ought to snap some of the botanicals that cover Denver's gardens. Well, this was a botanical for a short stint before it gave up. Always the question is whether this dead wood or functional art? Well, this is what I saw.
This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek, this time down to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This path shouts that upkeep here is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I get distracted. Art in the park indeed.
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz and focusing in to removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in this series like I usually do?
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie yesterday to the hills. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film card for the first time every. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled.
Since early August 2014, Rosetta has been enjoying a close-up view of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Meanwhile, astronomers on Earth have been busy following the comet with ground-based telescopes. As Rosetta is deep inside the ‘atmosphere’ coma – it was 100 km from the nucleus on 6 August, and has been getting much closer since then – the only way to view the whole comet is to ‘stand back’ and observe it from Earth.
This image was recorded on 11 August 2014 using one of the 8 m-diameter telescopes of the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Although faint, the comet is clearly active, revealing a dusty coma extending at least 19 000 km from the nucleus. The comet's dusty veil is not symmetrical as the dust is swept away from the Sun – located beyond the lower-right corner of the image – to begin forming a tail.
At the moment, the comet is visible only from the southern hemisphere and, at more than 500 million km from the Sun, it is still very faint. In addition, it currently sits in a patch of the sky where it is camouflaged against the crowded starry background of the Milky Way. For these reasons, the image was compiled by superimposing 40 individual exposures, each lasting about 50 seconds, and removing background stars.
A large collaboration of astronomers across the world has been working to make the most of the unique opportunity to observe the comet from the ground while Rosetta is performing measurements at the comet. The Very Large Telescope is taking images every two nights on average. These short exposures monitor the comet’s activity by studying how its brightness changes. The results are used by the Rosetta team to help plan spacecraft operations.
Credit: C. Snodgrass/ESO/ESA
20 x 7-min ISO 1600 exposures; astro-modified Canon 600D and Sky-Watcher ED 80mm f/6.25 telescope, piggybacked on a Celestron C8 telescope for autoguiding.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
Attention! Are these the cave men who lost their camp fire like in "Quest for Fire?" Not only did they lose their fire, they also apparently lost the bathroom. Maybe they were also looking for the flowers at the Denver Botanic Gardens. At least they could have a relaxing seat at that bench and study the pamphlet's map for bathrooms...
or maybe they could just sneak into the bushes.
So I followed the original path and in my wandering, I mostly found loads of more prople but started looking for the bathroom myself. I suppose I ought to snap some of the biotonics that cover Denver's gardens before too darn long. Well, this shows some green as a change up. Always the question is whether this is simply art or making visitors head for the John themselves? Well, at least this is green and I snapped away. Next?
This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek, this time down to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This path shouts that upkeep here is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I get distracted. Art in the park indeed.
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were plants, displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz and focusing in to removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in this series like I usually do?
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie yesterday to the hills. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film card for the first time every. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled.
20 x 2-min ISO 3200 and 10 x 4-min ISO 1600 exposures, taken over 2 nights. Astro-modified Canon 600D and Sky-Watcher ED 80mm f/6.25 telescope, piggybacked on a Celestron C8 telescope for manual guiding.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
Equipment:
OTA: William Optics GT81 w/0.8x reducer (382mm fl at f/4.7)
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G (HEQ-5)
Guidescope: Orion 50mm guidescope
Guiding camera: Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
Accessories:
DeepSkyDad Autofocuser
QHYCCD PoleMaster
Software:
SGP
PHD2
CdC
PixInsight
Acquisition:
Location: Flower Mound, TX for Ha(Bortle 7), Ft. Griffin State Historic Park for Oiii(Bortle 3)
Dates: 6/27/18, 6/28/18, 8/7/18
Gain: 200 Offset: 50
Camera temp: -10C
Ha: 104x300" Astrodon 5nm
Oiii: 17x300" Astrodon 3nm
Total integration time: 10hr 5min
64x darks per calibration (master from library)
30x flats per calibration
200x bias per calibration (master from library)
Preprocessing:
Batch PreProcessing script to generate calibrated images
StarAlignment
LocalNormalization
ImageIntegration
DrizzleIntegration
DynamicCrop each master
DBE each master
Luminance Processing:
Created a synthetic luminance using the linear masters 60%Ha and 40%Oiii
Deconvolution
TGV & MMT noise reduction (via Jon Rista's method)
HistogramTransformation x2
Duplicated the image to create a starless version, using a starmask and several iterations of MMT and MT. Then pushed the faint nebulosity in the starless version using PixelMath expression: "1-(1-$T)*(1-$T)"
Combined the starless version with the image using PixelMath expression "F=0.2; (1-(1-$T)*(1-s)*F)+($T*~F)" (s=starless photo).
HistogramTransformation to move black point in
LocalHistogramEqualization
MultiscaleLinearTransform for sharpening
CurvesTransformation for contrast
Preparing separate Ha and Oiii linear masters for tonmapping (applied to each master individually):
TGV & MMT noise reduction (via Jon Rista's method)
Removed stars via a StarMask and a few iterations of MMT and MT
Further removed background artifacts with an unmasked MMT
HistogramTransformation to bring to non-linear
Combined prepared Ha and Oiii masters with this PixelMath formula:
R: iif(ha>.15,ha,(ha*.8)+(oiii*.2))
G: iif(ha>0.5,1-(1-oiii)*(1-(ha-0.5)),oiii*(ha+0.5))
B: iif(oiii>.1,oiii,(ha*.3)+(oiii*.2))
Tonemap Processing:
HistogramTransformation with a RangeMask to push the fainter areas up a bit
HDRMT the brighter areas
A few CurvesTransformations using ColorMasks to alter the colors a bit
Combined Tonemap with Luminance using LRGBCombination
SCNR>Invert>SCNR with a StarMask to remove magenta stars
MT for slight star reduction
MMT for slight noise reduction
Resampled to 40% for web posting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IATA ICAO Callsign
TN TAA TRANSAIR
Founded8 February 1946
Commenced operations9 September 1946
Ceased operationsApril 1994 (acquired by Qantas Airways)
HubsMelbourne Airport (Essendon Airport from 1947 to 1971)
Parent companyAustralian National Airlines Commission
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" (or Common Branding) project, the entire airline was rebranded Qantas about a year later with tickets stating in small print "Australian Airlines Limited trading as Qantas Airways Limited" until the adoption of a single Air Operator Certificate a few years later. At that point, the entire airline was officially renamed "Qantas Airways Limited" continuing the name and livery of the parent company with the only change being the change of by-line from "The Spirit of Australia" to "The Australian Airline" under the window line with the existing "Qantas" title appearing above.
During its period as TAA, the company played a major part in the development of the Australian domestic air transport industry. The establishment of TAA broke the domestic air transport monopoly of Australian National Airways (ANA) in the late 1940s, and taking over the Queensland air network from Qantas. It was also at the time TAA supported the Flying Doctor Services of Australia by providing aircraft, pilots and engineers to ensure every emergency was answered quickly. Qantas had also been instrumental in the formation of the Flying Doctor Service.
The airline's headquarters were located in Melbourne.[1][2] In 1954 TAA became the first airline outside Europe to introduce the Vickers Viscount "propjet", and in 1981 it introduced the Airbus A300, the first wide-body aircraft to be purchased by an Australian domestic airline providing TAA with a clear edge over major competitor at the time, Ansett which had purchased instead, the Boeing 767-200, receiving the type approximately a year later. Ironically, although the A300s were initially painted in full Qantas livery, they were phased out within a few years being replaced by previously international operated Qantas 767-238ERs, 767-338ERs and later supplemented by seven ex British Airways 767-336ERs.
Qantas revived the Australian Airlines brand between 2002 and 2006 to serve the low-cost leisure market of visitors to and from Australia but using a full-service model, operating selected Qantas 767-338ERs – although the livery used was not the same as that used by the previous domestic operation.
History
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Background
Up until World War II, Australia had been one of the world's leading centres of aviation. With its tiny population of about seven million, Australia ranked sixth in the world for scheduled air mileage, had 16 airlines, was growing at twice the world average, and had produced a number of prominent aviation pioneers, including Lawrence Hargrave, Harry Hawker, Bert Hinkler, Lawrence Wackett, the Reverend John Flynn, Sidney Cotton, Keith Virtue and Charles Kingsford Smith. Governments on both sides of politics, well aware of the immense stretches of uninhabitable desert that separated the small productive regions of Australia, regarded air transport as a matter of national importance (as did the governments of other geographically large nations, such as the Soviet Union and the United States). In the words of Director General of Civil Aviation AB Corbett,
A nation which refuses to use flying in its national life must necessarily today be a backward and defenceless nation.[3]
Air transport was encouraged both with direct subsidies and with mail contracts. Immediately before the start of the war, more than half of all airline passenger and freight miles were subsidised.
However, after 1939 and especially after Japan's invasion of the islands to the north in 1941, civil aviation was sacrificed to military needs. By the end of the war, there were only nine domestic airlines remaining, eight smaller regional concerns and Australian National Airways (ANA), a conglomerate owned by British and Australian shipping interests which had a virtual monopoly on the major trunk routes and received 85% of all government air transport subsidies.
The Chifley Government's view was summed up by Minister for Air, Arthur Drakeford: Where are the great pioneers of aviation? ..... We discover that one by one the small pioneer enterprises are disappearing from the register. It is the inevitable process of absorption by a monopoly. Air transport, the government believed, was primarily a public service, like hospitals, the railways or the post office. If there was to be a monopoly at all, then it should be one owned by the public and working in the public interest.
In August 1945, only two days after the end of World War II, the Australian parliament passed the Australian National Airways Bill, which set up the Australian National Airways Commission (ANAC) and charged it with the task of reconstructing the nation's air transport industry. In keeping with the Labor government's socialist leanings, the bill declared that the licenses of private operators would lapse for those routes that were adequately serviced by the national carrier. From this time on, it seemed, air transport in Australia would be a government monopoly. However, a legal challenge, backed by the Liberal opposition and business interests generally, was successful and in December 1945, the High Court ruled that the Commonwealth did not have the power to prevent the issue of airline licenses to private companies. The government could set up an airline if it wished, but it could not legislate a monopoly. Much of the press objected strongly to the setting up of a public airline network, seeing it as a form of socialisation by stealth.
Beginnings
Trans-Australia Airlines Skymaster
With the bill suitably amended to remove the monopoly provisions, the Australian National Airways Commission came into existence in February 1946. The commissioners themselves were prominent high-achievers, including the director-general of civil aviation, the deputy director, a Labor party luminary and former member of the Commonwealth Bank board, the director-general of posts and telegraphs, and the assistant secretary of the Treasury. The commission was to be chaired by Arthur Coles.
Coles was one of the richest men in Australia, and the co-founder of the Coles Group. By this time however, Coles had withdrawn from active management of the family business. He was 'a great believer in competition for business'[4] and would not have accepted the post of Chairman of the ANAC had the monopoly provision been retained.
The Commission decided on the name "Trans-Australia Airlines", applied to the Treasury for a preliminary advance of £10,000 and set about making plans, recruiting staff, and purchasing equipment. Reginald Ansett, proprietor of the small Victorian company Ansett Airways was quick to offer to get the new airline off to a flying start by selling his entire operation to the ANAC as a going concern, including (if desired) his own services as managing agent. The asking price, the Commission decided, was optimistic, and Ansett declined a more modest counter offer.
There was considerable correspondence between the Commission and Ivan Holyman, the Chairman of ANA, with a view to recruiting Holyman as General Manager of TAA at the princely salary of £10,000 pa, and, when that offer was declined, of buying the near-monopoly airline outright. Holyman was not willing to sell, nor to work for a government-owned body, but was interested in setting up a "composite company", the details of which proposal remained unclear.
Eventually the ANAC proceeded with the original plan, to build an airline from scratch. One of the first people hired was Lester Brain, then operations manager at Qantas. Brain had 22 years of pioneering aviation experience behind him and was regarded as the man behind Qantas' reputation for technical excellence. He applied for the advertised position of TAA Operations Manager, but to his surprise and delight, was instead offered an appointment as General Manager — though at £3,000 pa, not the £10,000 that had been offered to Holyman.
TAA Douglas DC-3 at Brisbane Airport, early 1970s
TAA acquired its first two aircraft in mid-June 1946, both Douglas DC-3s. A dozen more DC-3s would be added over the next few months, all ex-Royal Australian Air Force aircraft originally bought by the Australian Government under lend-lease. In July, the Treasury released £350,000 to allow TAA to order four larger, more modern DC-4s from Douglas in the United States, and Brain appointed Aubrey Koch (from Qantas) as Senior Pilot DC4 Skymaster and John Watkins as Chief Technical Officer. Watkins would become one of the key figures in TAA's success. His first task was to travel to the United States to accept delivery of the DC-4s. He later wrote:
To my utter astonishment Arthur Coles, after the expected pep-talk about the DC-4 assignment, said he was relying on me to find out what new equipment was being developed that would enable us to offer our passengers a better product than our established rival, at a competitive price.
It was typical of Coles, who knew nothing about aircraft, to reason that quality equipment would be vital, and then select the best man for the job of finding it and be prepared to back his judgement.
At this point, political considerations came to the fore again. TAA planned to start regular services on 7 October, but there was a federal election set for 28 September. Britain's wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill had been enormously popular during the darkest hours, but was voted out at the first post-war opportunity. There was no certainty that the Chifley Government would not be treated likewise, and the opposition was opposed to government ownership. Coles addressed the Commission at a meeting on 2 September 1946.
Gentlemen, the Government wants us to start services as soon as possible. There is a Federal election on 28 September. If we don't have an airline up and running by then and Labor loses the election there'll be no airline. We'll be out of a job. Any suggestions?
After some discussion it was agreed that the airline was not ready. It had a name, some excellent pilots, and some aircraft, but no ground facilities, no sales staff, no documentation, not even tickets. With a great deal of effort, it should be possible to make the planned start date of 7 October. With the discussion complete, Coles said:
I have news for you. We start next Monday.
After a week of frantic effort hiring staff, borrowing a tin shed at the RAAF base at Laverton because Essendon Airport had been turned into mud by heavy rain, creating operations manuals, passenger manifests, tickets, and load sheets — even making passenger steps and baggage carts because there was no time to buy them in the ordinary way — Captains Hepburn and Nickels took off from Laverton at 5:45 am bound for Sydney. TAA's first scheduled flight carried a full load of VIPs and just one paying passenger.
Rapid expansion
Fokker Friendship Series 100 of TAA at Melbourne's Essendon Airport in 1970.
The subsequent few years led to massive growth for the new airline. As post-war austerity gave way to a more affluent era, Australians were able to travel by air in ever increasing numbers.
Much of the growth in domestic aviation in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was dominated by the rivalry between the privately owned Ansett-ANA and the government-supported TAA. A major factor in the success of the government airline was the wise choice of aircraft. After initially utilising the venerable and readily available Douglas DC-3, TAA was able to acquire the revolutionary pressurised Convair 240. Popular with the travelling public because of its ability to fly above much of the weather, it was really this aircraft that established the airline's reputation for excellence and service reliability.
TAA Douglas DC-9-31 Paul Strzelecki awaiting passengers at Melbourne's Essendon Airport in 1971, wearing the 1964-1969 Whispering T-Jet colour scheme used exclusively on DC-9s and Boeing 727s.
East-coast services were continually expanded and TAA soon earned its title as a true 'trans Australian' airline with services to Perth on the west coast of the continent, using Douglas DC-4 aircraft. Vickers Viscount turboprop aircraft were introduced in the 1950s and again proved immensely popular as a result of their smooth, vibration-free ride.
Although government-owned, the Liberal conservative government of the 1950s had a philosophical leaning towards the needs of the privately owned Ansett and the requirements of TAA suffered as a result. The controversial Two Airlines Policy was introduced and effectively seriously limited growth and expansion opportunities for the airlines without government approval.
Flight numbers and schedules were strictly controlled, and TAA and Ansett-ANA invariably had flights departing airports for the same destination at exactly the same time with exactly the same equipment. The policy was so strict that even newly purchased identical aircraft (one from each airline) were required on their delivery flights to enter Australian airspace at exactly the same time.[citation needed]
TAA's first Lockheed Electra II four-engined turboprop airliner at Melbourne's Essendon Airport, January 1971, wearing the 1960-1969 Jetliner colour scheme
The conservative government's benevolent attitude towards Ansett was epitomised in the 1950s when it forced TAA to swap a number of its popular turbo-prop Viscount aircraft with Ansett-ANA in return for slower and older, piston-engined Douglas DC-6Bs. In another instance, TAA had planned to re-equip with the revolutionary Sud Aviation Caravelle pure-jet but as Ansett felt this was too advanced at that stage for their own needs, both airlines were required to purchase the Ansett preference: the less advanced turbo-prop Lockheed L-188 Electra.
Nonetheless the Electra proved a reliable aircraft and TAA continuously grew and prospered. In the 1960s it introduced Boeing 727-100 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 Whispering T-Jets on primary routes as well as Fokker F27 Friendship Jetliner turboprops on regional routes.
By the late 1960s it had a massive network criss-crossing the continent, as well as an internal network within Papua New Guinea and flights from Darwin to Baucau in Portuguese Timor. At this time the airline's livery was the famous white T on a blue tail, referred to as The Look of the '70s. One of the more memorable television advertisements of the period was the jingle "Up, Up and away, with TAA, the Friendly Friendly Way", whose lyrics and music were a variation on the 1967 song Up, Up and Away, written by Jimmy Webb and also used by the US airline TWA.
Further expansion occurred in the 1970s and larger 727-276s (simultaneously with Ansett) were acquired. Once again the terms of the introduction were restricted by the two-airline policy.
The policy was marginally relaxed in the early 1980s when TAA was able to introduce the Airbus A300B4, whilst Ansett chose to purchase the Boeing 767. The A300 was a revolutionary aircraft at the time for the domestic airline industry, in that it was a wide-body (twin aisle) aircraft. It provided significant extra capacity on the trunk east coast network and to Perth. In 1986, Trans-Australia Airlines was rebranded as 'Australian Airlines' and the kangaroo returned to its livery. Its new image coincided with a very successful and popular television campaign: "You Should See Us Now", "Face To Face" and "The Way We Do The Things We Do" became the carrier's new theme songs.
Rebranding
A Boeing 727 at Brisbane Airport in March 1992
In 1986, after a change of airline management, the name Trans-Australia Airlines was controversially dropped, in favour of Australian Airlines. Associated with this image change was a new livery for the airlines' aircraft, which wore the title Australian.
Australian Airlines was the travel sponsor for the television shows Neighbours, Wheel of Fortune and Sale of the Century between late 1987 and 1994.
Between 1980 and the merger with Qantas, selected teams participating in the Australian Touring Car Championship bore both Trans Australian Airlines (TAA) and Australian Airlines insignia, and from 1985 to 1990 the Seven Network commentary team used the airline to travel between the states to attend the various racing venues.
By the end of the 1980s, the government began to move towards deregulation of domestic aviation. (Deregulation took effect in October 1990.[5]) A by-product of this impending change was the 1989 Australian pilots' dispute. As the result of prolonged wage suppression, this dispute saw the resignation of the majority of Australian Airlines' aircrew and the basic structure of the airline was changed forever. The Hawke cabinet not only encouraged the airline companies to employ overseas "strike breakers" but went even further, opting to pay the newly employed pilots from the public purse.[6]
Downturn
The early 1990s changed the face of Australian domestic air travel. The Federal Government, although technically having deregulated the domestic aviation sector, made it effectively impossible for new entrant Compass Airlines to succeed. In 1987, the Hawke Government announced that the then government-owned domestic air terminals would be effectively privatised and leased to the two domestic airlines. Compass, a threat to the TAA/Ansett duopoly, was granted severely limited access to terminal facilities. At Sydney Airport both major airlines had effectively been given freehold ownership of their two separate terminals. The Federal Airports Corporation later purchased the Ansett terminal when it went broke in 2002. Any third airline operating there had to make do with the regional airline facilities. At other airports the two airlines had leased mostly empty terminals and installed all operational furnishings themselves. The airport authorities eagerly accepted lease money from Compass while providing almost no space in their terminals.
The ambitious new airline was allocated by the government what were clearly the worst gates, in the least desirable sections of domestic terminals across the country (in some cases, Atco huts were used) and had to operate from the international terminal at Perth Airport. As the result of liens placed over the Compass aircraft (due to alleged non-payment of airways expenses), the government's Civil Aviation Authority effectively caused the shutting down of Compass on 20 December 1991, 5 days before what would have been the immensely profitable Christmas travel period.[7] A seemingly well-orchestrated plan saw the Compass aircraft quickly flown out of the country and, with them, potentially the demise of a truly deregulated domestic aviation sector.
Ansett and TAA/Australian were the sole remaining players, in effect a de facto two-airline policy yet again. Throughout this period of transformation and deregulation, Australian Airlines continued its successful run by posting healthy profits, increasing passenger loads and gained much favour from its catchy television commercials. Although the merger with Qantas was seen as inevitable to give the latter a domestic network — and revive its bottom line — many former staff of Australian Airlines (TAA) and the general public mourned the loss of this iconic Australian brand.
Acquisition by Qantas
Although Compass was controversially and perhaps inevitably forced out of business, Australian's days, and those of Ansett, were numbered: the decision had been made at Federal Government level to offer both government-owned carriers (Qantas and Australian) for sale. Australian Airlines was offered first but was quickly snapped up by Qantas, which offered $400m to purchase the domestic carrier. Qantas then decided to merge the airline into its network; subsequently the government offered the entire merged operation in a public float, after selling a cornerstone 25% stake to British Airways, thus returning Qantas to the stock market after being absent from listing since 1947.
Qantas acquired Australian Airlines on 14 September 1992,[8] in preparation for its closure on 30 April 1994.[9] Subsequent to the merger, TAA/Australian's Boeing Customer Number '76' was replaced by the Qantas Customer Number '38' for all subsequent Boeing aircraft deliveries commencing with the Boeing 737-838.
The majority of the Australian Airlines branding was removed during the merger and replaced with Qantas branding; for instance, Australian's Flight Deck Lounge became The Qantas Club. The sole remaining Australian Airlines brand identity – The Australian Way (inflight) magazine – was rebranded as The Qantas Magazine in 2016.
Rebirth
In October 2002, Qantas revived the Australian Airlines brand as a full-service carrier, targeting the low-cost leisure market and flying primarily out of Cairns and Bali. This airline was disbanded in 2006 and its assets were absorbed back into the Qantas group.[8]
TAA Museum
Qantas currently allocates space at its Airport West Training Facility (formerly the TAA/Australian Airlines Flight Training Centre) for The TAA Museum. The museum displays artifacts from the life of TAA/Australian including service ware, uniforms, advertisements and photographs and is open to the public during the week. The museum is immensely popular with former staff and the travelling public and is run by a dedicated group of volunteers.
Fleet
The nose section of an Australian Airlines Airbus A300 in TAA colours at Eagle Farm Airport, 1988
An Australian Airlines Boeing 737-300 at a gate at Sydney Airport, with a company Airbus A300 in the background, in TAA colors, 1987
Over the years, the airline operated the following aircraft types:
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300[10][11]
1981
1993
Wide-body aircraft. Transferred to Qantas.
Bell 47[12]
1961
1971
Light helicopter
Boeing 707[13] Leased from Qantas
Boeing 727[14]
1964
1992
Includes B727-100 and B727-200 aircraft
Boeing 737-300[11]
1986
1993
Transferred to Qantas.
Boeing 737-400[11]
1990
1993
Transferred to Qantas.
Boeing 747-200[11]
1989
1990
One leased from All Nippon Airways.
Boeing 757-200[11]
1989
1990
Two leased from Monarch Airlines
Bristol 170 Freighter[15]
1961
1967
Cargo aircraft
Consolidated PBY Catalina[16]
1962
1966
Amphibious flying boat built as Canadian-Vickers OA-10A for USAAF
Convair CV-240[17]
1948
1959
One Convair CV-440 operated by HARS in TAA livery
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter[18]
1960
1966
STOL aircraft
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter[19]
1966
1993
STOL aircraft
Douglas DC-3
Douglas C-47 Skytrain[13]
1946
Douglas DC-4
Douglas C-54 Skymaster[13]
Douglas DC-6[13]
Fokker F27 Friendship[13] Turboprop aircraft
Lockheed L-188 Electra[13]
1959
1971
Turboprop aircraft
Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar[citation needed]
McDonnell Douglas DC-9[13]
1967
1987
DC-9-30 aircraft
Vickers Viscount[20]
1954
1970
Turboprop aircraft
Australian Airlines also ordered the Airbus A320 and 'pictures' appeared in Australian aviation magazines advertising the paint company who were to supply the paint for the livery. The airline never took up the option on the A320 opting instead for the Boeing 737-400.
Accidents and incidents
Fatal
On 8 August 1951 at around 9 p.m. local time, a Trans Australia Airlines Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registered VH-TAT) crashed into the sea shortly after take-off from Cambridge Aerodrome for a cargo flight to Melbourne, killing the two pilots. They had lost control of the aircraft due to a severe ice build-up.[21][22]
On 31 October 1954, a Vickers Viscount (registered VH-TVA) crashed shortly after take-off from Mangalore Airport. Three of the eight crew members that had been on the training flight were killed.[23]
On 10 June 1960, Flight 538 from Rockhampton to Mackay, Queensland, which was operated by a Fokker F27 Friendship registered VH-TFB, crashed into the sea while approaching Mackay Airport, killing the 25 passengers and four crew on board. It was the worst accident in the history of the airline.
On 24 May 1961, a Douglas DC-4 registered VH-TAA was destroyed when it crashed on Bulwer Island whilst on approach to Brisbane Airport, killing the two pilots that had been on the cargo flight from Sydney. The captain had suffered a heart attack and collapsed onto the throttles, and the co-pilot had thus been unable to see large trees in front of him because he could not reach the switch for the landing light.[24]
On 28 April 1970, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (registered VH-TGR) crashed shortly after take-off from an unpaved airfield near Kainantu, Papua New Guinea, killing the two pilots and six of the nine passengers on board.[25]
Non-fatal
The damaged tail of a Canadian Pacific Air Lines Douglas DC-8, that was hit by a TAA Boeing 727 at Sydney Airport in 1971
On 29 January 1971, a Boeing 727 registered VH-TJA hit the tailfin of a Canadian Pacific Air Lines Douglas DC-8 (registered CF-CPQ) right after take-off from Sydney as Flight 592 to Perth. The DC-8 had not yet cleared the runway following its arrival. The TAA 727 suffered a gash in its fuselage, but the pilots managed to safely return the aircraft to the airport, so that there were no injuries.[26]
On 11 April 1972, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registered VH-PNB) that had been leased from Ansett, overran the runway on landing at Madang Airport, ending up in the sea damaged beyond economic repair.[27]
On 9 June 1982, a Fokker F27 Friendship was damaged beyond repair when it skidded off the runway upon landing at RAAF Base Amberley. The aircraft with three people on board had been on a training flight, which included a landing with one engine deliberately shut down, during which the pilot lost control.[28]
Criminal occurrences
On 19 July 1960, Flight 408 from Sydney to Brisbane, operated by a Lockheed L-188 Electra registered VH-TLB, was the subject of an attempted hijacking. An armed man demanded the flight be diverted to Singapore, but he was overpowered by the crew.[29]
On 8 June 1979, a hijacking attempt occurred on board a TAA McDonnell Douglas DC-9 during a flight from Coolangatta to Brisbane. The pilots landed at Brisbane Airport, where the perpetrator was arrested.[30]
On 21 September 1982, Trans Australia Airlines Flight 454, operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 registered VH-TJS, was the subject of an attempted robbery of $600,000 from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The robbery involved four men consigning themselves as freight, intending to steal the money during two flights of the aircraft.[31]
On 13 February 1983, an Airbus A300 was hijacked en route a flight from Perth to Melbourne and the hijacker demanded to be flown to Tasmania. He was protesting the Franklin River Dam development.The pilots continued to Melbourne Airport, on taxi-in the hijacker, who was on the flight deck told the crew his bomb was on a timer – the aircraft was stopped and a full evacuation followed. The hijacker was subsequently arrested.[32]
Did cave men lose their camp fire like in Quest for Fire? I thought they rubbed two sticks together? Would these sticks ever start a fire... even with boy scout water? I found that rubbing two matches together works well. At least they must have gotten good mileage from this rig. This must be where that paleo crowd told their hunting lies and sang their camp fire songs honoring granny Lucy. You don't suppose that they invented smores back then? Maybe they were also looking for the flowers to eat at the Denver Botanic Gardens. At least they could have found seats at this bench. The fire got really hot and the stone ring shattered.
So I followed the path and in my wandering, I found a bench, sat then found this camp fire. I suppose I ought to snap some of the botanicals that cover Denver's gardens before too darn long. I'll have to run out of jokes first! Well, this mimics botanical branches. Always the question is whether this is simply art or functional art? Were they clever and put gas jets inside? Well, this is what I saw and grabbed. Next?
This snap is yet another from a recent eDDie trek, this time down to the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have passed untold times but never invested my time or ponied up the entrance fee. This path shouts that upkeep here is far from free, but eDDie bought a season pass so I did another round of sponge bobbing at the right price. Boy, this place is loaded with distractions that were made for me! ...and, did I get distracted. Art in the park indeed.
Trekkers and lookie-loos poked every path and display. There were displays and art everywhere, keeping me abuzz and fosusing in to removing background peeps. I expect that I will actually get to botanic growies sooner or later. When will I change interests in this series like I usually do?
Since the Denver Botonic Gardens trek, I have made more treks and another with eDDie yesterday to the hills. At least I was able to snag a load of shots on that mellow day. I filled my film card for the first time ever, often seriously. OK, I was tapped by the time it was filled.
20 x 2-minute ISO 1600 exposures. Astro-modified Canon 600D and Sky-Watcher ED 80mm f/6.25 telescope, piggybacked on a Celestron C8 telescope for manual guiding.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
Created for photoshop contest : Week 1074
Original photo by: Jaci XIV
Don't blame me if the camera settings are completely off ... needed to copy/paste all the symbols from an existing picture of the screen into this view. (the green square in the middle is a separate image made in PS Beta -remove background- and then copy/paste.)
All work done in Photoshop Beta.
Removed background in post and added a blurred ambient room background. Also removed logo and distracting wear marks
18 x 7-min ISO 1600 exposures; astro-modified Canon 600D and Sky-Watcher ED 80mm f/6.25 telescope, piggybacked on a Celestron C8 telescope for autoguiding.
Frames stacked in Deep Sky Stacker software. Result post-processed to increase contrast, reduce noise and remove background colour gradients caused by stray light.
Found this one at the florist this morning, ain't she a beauty ... technique: Put it in a window to get backlight, use a flash with a big diffuser, crank up apperture to around 20, take 3 shots from your tripod with +- 1 in AEB (use manual bracketing for flash). Merge result to HDR, remove background and place on a very small canvas ... Flaming Tulip without background - done.
McKayla's mom wanted me to remove a background from one of her shots and put something pretty behind her, so I'm experimenting now. Removing backgrounds is painstaking, and doesn't work with every pic. I liked how this one lent itself to it, although I couldn't remove her grandmother from the shot without the pic looking weird.
Dhyezel needed a pic for McKayla's first birthday celebration. Hopefully I'll be able to get her a good one!
I did some photoshoping on this photo. ( removed background, added a slight blur, darkened the hair, added the lense flare ... just to name a few things ).
Juvenile Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris). Under 2 inches (5 cm) long, so I would guess it is a young-of-the-year specimen. Clam River (tributary of St. Croix River), Burnett County, WI. Captured in dip-net. Aug. 7, 2016. Shot in photo tank with 90mm macro. (Photo altered, cleaned and adjusted in Photoshop to fix contrast and remove background, suspended sand, etc. Color saturation reduced slightly but otherwise unaltered.)
Just wanted to screw with you guys.
Initial idea kind of came from {ABA}Worlock but these slot screws were created by me in PMG.
Comes in all the flavors arctic chill, light gray, kinda standard PMG gray, darker gray, gold, and rusty PMG.
To rotate screw all you gotta do is ungroup once and the screw is free to rotate or remove background.
Squares were added so you could see what they look like on something they are not part of the group so you can remove them easily!
Code (but don't forget to credit me):
(don't worry not much code, just 122 lines for the whole set)
sample of the before and after creative process using photoshop CS5 (removing background). Strobist info: single 22" socked beauty dish with yongnuo 560II on full power in front and a another one on 1/4 to camera right behind model (both fired with cyber syncs)
Photoshop Tutorial: How to Remove Background from Image
www.colorexpertsbd.com/clipping-path-services.html
For the background removal of a product (here, a car) from its image, clipping path is a widely used technique. It is done with Adobe Photoshop’s pen tool. The tutorial shows the background removal of a car from its image using a clipping path technique.
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Witsel Carry.