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Color CCD Imaging with Luminance Layering

reating sharp, photographic- component. What luminance layering ness and contrast of the final image will
quality color images with CCDs does, in essence, is to replace the low sig- depend on the quality of this exposure.
can pose challenges to the astro nal-to-noise luminance information of a Since the color information affects only
imager. Although sensitive across most of color image with the high signal-to-noise the hue and saturation of the final comthe visual spectrum, CCDs By Robert Gendler luminance data from a posite, RGB exposures can be made with
black-and-white exposure.
the CCD in a lower-resolution (binned)
are especially sensitive to
In practice the luminance image is mode. The higher sensitivity of a binned
red and near-infrared wavelengths. This
is not an issue for those using CCDs for usually a very long unfiltered exposure image also allows for shorter exposures
black-and-white imaging, but it can be (or a series of short exposures stacked at the telescope. However, I should add
together) taken with the CCD operating that taking longer exposures will result
for full-color work.
Tricolor images assembled from indi- at full (unbinned) resolution. The sharp- in richer and more saturated color.
vidual exposures through red, green, and
blue (RGB) filters can be grainy and
lacking in detail. The reduced light passing through the filters, along with the
CCDs low sensitivity to blue wavelengths, can result in images with low
signal-to-noise ratio. This can be improved if you use either a very large
aperture telescope, a highly sensitive
chip, or extremely long exposures, but
for many these options are not practical.
A digital-processing technique, pioneered independently by Kunihiko Okano
in Japan (www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rt6k-okn/)
and Robert Dalby in England (www
.bizvis.demon.co.uk/ROBERTDA.HTM),
can greatly improve CCD images. Called
luminance layering, this technique allows
astro imagers to overcome many of the
limitations of tricolor imaging. When
used in conjunction with RGB images it
is referred to as the LRGB technique,
where L refers to the images brightness
component, or luminance.
Luminance layering combines the
sharpness and contrast of an unfiltered,
high-resolution black-and-white image
with the color information from a weaker, lower-resolution RGB image to produce a more aesthetically pleasing quadcolor image thats not only smoother
but also deeper (S&T: December 1998,
page 142). This method is similar in
principle to Rajiv Guptas Lab technique,
described beginning on page 127.
We can better appreciate the luminancelayering method if we look at the HSL
(hue, saturation, luminance) model of
color perception. In this model visual information is perceived as having hue
(color), saturation (purity), and luminance The author captured this view of the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, and its companion, NGC 5195, in
(brightness or intensity). The eye tends to Canes Venatici with his 1212-inch (0.3-meter) Ritchey-Chrtien reflector working at f/7.5 and an
disregard noise in hue and saturation but SBIG ST-8E CCD camera. Using the technique described in the text, he digitally combined three
is sensitive to noise in the luminance com- separate 20-minute exposures through red, green, and blue (RGB) filters with a 90-minute unfilponent. Furthermore, the detail in an tered exposure to produce this sharp, highly detailed color composite. For the unfiltered expoimage from the eyes perspective is con- sure the camera operated at full resolution (unbinned); for the RGB exposures it was binned 2 by
veyed almost exclusively in the luminance 2. North is up in this 8-wide field. All illustrations in this article supplied by Robert Gendler.
2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Sky & Telescope July 2001

133

astro imaging

Luminance layering combines the sharpness and contrast of an unfiltered, high-resolution black-and-white image with the color information from a lower-resolution tricolor image. [1] In Adobe Photoshop
you start by opening the color image and enlarging its canvas to
allow more room to do the compositing. The example here is the
9th-magnitude irregular galaxy M82 in Ursa Major, which the author
imaged using the same setup as for his M51 image on the previous
page. The exposure times are 20 minutes through red and green filters and 30 minutes through blue.

[2] Once the canvas has been prepared, the black-and-white image (a
120-minute exposure made with the same equipment) is pasted over
the color image. The quality of this image is critical since it will comprise the luminance or L component of the final composite.
[3] In Photoshops Layers palette the color image appears as the
Background layer, while the L image is Layer 1. Layer 1s opacity
should be lowered to about 50 percent to make it transparent when
you are aligning the two images.

134

Assembling an LRGB Image


LRGB images can be created with such
image-processing programs as MaxIm
DL (www.cyanogen.com), MIRA AP
(www.axres.com), AIP for Windows
(www.willbell.com/aip/index.htm), and
StellaImage (www.astroarts.co.jp/products/
stlimg2/index.html). They can also be
made with Adobe Photoshop, which I especially like for its versatility. Since Photoshop places the RGB and L components
into separate layers, they can be manipulated and enhanced independently even
after the separate images have been
aligned and combined. For example, you
can make color adjustments to the shadows, midtones, and highlights separately.
You can likewise adjust the contrast of
each color channel separately.
The LRGB method can be summarized as follows:
Step 1. Once the raw R, G, and B images
have been acquired, they must be calibrated (dark frame subtracted and flat-fielded)

in the usual manner. They are then assembled into a conventional tricolor image. If
the original images are obtained with the
CCD in binned mode, the RGB composite
must be resampled (interpolated) to match
the resolution of the L image. The tricolor
image can be enhanced by standard imageprocessing algorithms. I sometimes apply a
mild Gaussian blur at this time to smooth
the image. The result is then saved as a
conventional TIFF file.
Step 2. Prepare your L image. This is a
critical step, since it will provide most of
the detail and contrast in the final composite. Any major enhancements, such as
nonlinear stretching or unsharp masking, should be applied to the L image to
bring out all its glorious detail. When
you are satisfied with the result, save it as
a TIFF file.
Step 3. Open the RGB image. At this
point I usually increase its canvas
height and width (the Canvas Size command is found under the Image menu)

July 2001 Sky & Telescope

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

to give myself some elbow room to work.


The canvas is the platform upon which
youll compose the LRGB image.
Step 4. Open your L image. Select the
entire image by clicking on All in the Select menu. Cut and paste it over the RGB
image using the commands found in the
Edit menu.
Step 5. Display the Layers palette (under
the Window menu). Youll see that there
are now two layers the Background,
which is the RGB composite, and Layer 1,
which is the luminance component. In
the palettes pull-down menu select Luminosity. Next, make Layer 1 transparent by
changing its opacity to approximately 50
percent. Now youre ready to align the L
layer with the RGB.
Step 6. Go to the Edit menu and select
Free Transform. This function allows you
to move the now-transparent luminance
layer over the RGB until the stars match up.
Occasionally, you may find that the
two images are rotated relative to each

other. The best way to deal with this is to


preregister the images using a separate
program such as RegiStar or Picture Window (see page 129). The images will then
line up perfectly in Photoshop. You can
also rotate Layer 1 in Photoshop by using
the Free Transform command.
Once the two layers are perfectly
aligned, press the Enter key and then return Layer 1s opacity to 100 percent.
You can now save this LRGB composite
as a Photoshop document. As such you
can go back and modify the layers in the
future without having to redo the compositing. To merge the two images into a
single one, you should use the Flatten
Image command under the Layer menu.
The beauty of Photoshop is that before
flattening the image you can select either
the Background or Layer 1 (by highlighting the appropriate selection in the Layers palette) and continue to adjust and
enhance them separately. You may want
to add more color saturation to the RGB
layer or apply a Gaussian blur to the individual color channels if any of them
show excessive noise. Additional sharpening filters or an unsharp mask can also be
applied to the luminance layer if desired.

[4] When you are satisfied that the two layers are precisely aligned, return the opacity of the
luminance layer to 100 percent. After you have applied final enhancements to both layers, the
two images are merged into a single one by flattening them. The result is a stunning LRGB
composite that is not only smooth but also rich in color, contrast, and detail.

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2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Sky & Telescope July 2001

135

This view of the 9th-magnitude spiral galaxy M63 in Canes Venatici was made with the same
setup, with the telescope working at f/9. The LRGB exposures are 240, 40, 40, and 70 minutes,
respectively. Compare the image with that of NGC 7331 in Pegasus below.

When youre satisfied with the LRGB


composite, flatten the image and save it
as a TIFF file.

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Filtered Luminance Images


Up to this point Ive discussed using only
an unfiltered image as the luminance
component. This works well with galaxies
and other objects that exhibit a broad
spectral range. If, however, an object has
a narrow spectral emission, then a luminance exposure made through a filter can
benefit the final image. For example,
Below: The LRGB exposures for NGC 7331 are
260, 50, 40, and 80 minutes, respectively.

136

July 2001 Sky & Telescope

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

emission nebulae can be greatly enhanced


if the luminance exposures are made with
a red or hydrogen-alpha filter.
I have found that the luminance-layering technique can greatly enhance my
ability to produce high-quality color CCD
astro images. I strongly recommend that
others experiment with this method.
Connecticut-based physician Robert Gendler
(robgendler@att.net) shoots the sky from his
driveway with his 1212-inch Ritchey-Chrtien reflector, Takahashi FSQ-106 refractor, and SBIG
ST-8E and Finger Lakes Instruments IMG1024S
CCD cameras. You can view more of his astro
images at http://robgendler.astrodigitals.com/.

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