Here is my first successful (at least moderately) attempt at merging H-alpha data into an LRGB image--the Soul nebula. Captured in Oakland, CA this past weekend with an FLT-110 apo @ f/6.5 and an SBIG STL-11000 mounted on an Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO. 90 minutes H-alpha (through Astrodon 3nm filter), 30 minutes luminosity, and ten minutes each RG&B. Obviously, I could have used more time in all subexposures, but particularly in the RG&B. Still, I was pleased with the results and particularly pleased that I was able to keep most of the contrast and detail in the H-alpha layer without losing the stars in the luminance layer or creating a salmon colored nebula. Boy, what a difference H-alpha makes on an object like this. Under Oakland's magnitude 3.8 skies I couldn't even detect the nebula in the unprocessed luminance layer--even when stretched. Then add in the H-alpha and suddenly you've got an image!
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