Stars and Star Clusters

The Pleiades (M45)

This had to wait until my post processing skills and software had both improved to be processed.

M45 From Dark Skies

A DSLR image of M45, The Pleiades, shot from the shores of Abiquiu Lake in NM during the new moon. Darker skies and an optic optimized for astronomy helped with the results, as well as a longer integration time than my previous effort on this target. Equipment: Canon 550D (astro-modified, clear glass filter) Software Bisque MyT Mount Stellarvue SVQ100 580mm f/5.8 Astrograph Refractor Software: Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.8 Lightroom CC Light Frames: 28 x 480 secs (3 hrs 44 mins) @ ISO 800 Dark Frames: 10 x 480 secs (1 hr 20 mins) @ ISO 800 Bias Frames: 30 x 1/4000th sec Object Details from Wikipedia: the Pleiades (pron.: /ˈplaɪ.ədiːz/ or /ˈpliː.ədiːz/), or Seven Sisters (Messier object 45 or M45), is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. The name Pleiades comes from Greek mythology; it has several meanings in different cultures and traditions.

M13, The Great Cluster In Hercules

M13, one of the brighter globular clusters to be seen from the Northern Hemisphere shows off its mixture of blue and gold stars, under dark skies in Northern New Mexico. Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM-C Camera @ -20C and Gain:139 Offset:21 Software Bisque MyT Mount Celestron EdgeHD 800 8" SCT, with Lepus 0.62x reducer, f/6.2 at 1260mm Software: Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.8 Lightroom CC Light Frames: Luminance: 12 x 150 secs (30 mins) Red: 8 x 120 secs (16 mins) Green: 8 x 120 secs (16 mins) Blue: 8 x 120 secs (16 mins) Dark Frames: 20 x 120 secs (24 mins) 20 x 150 secs (50 mins) More Details From Wikipedia: Messier 13 (M13), also designated NGC 6205 and sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules or the Hercules Globular Cluster, is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules. M13 was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, and cataloged by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764 into his list of objects not to mistake for comets; Messier's list, including Messier 13, eventually became known as the Messier Catalog.[8]

M13

Here is another M13 image, this time using the refractor for a wider view. M13 is one of the larger and more impressive globular clusters visible, and makes for an interesting target in almost any scope. This image is an RGB composite with just a little of the luminance data blended in to get some glow in the core without washing out the colors. Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM-C Camera @ -15C and Gain:0 Offset:10 Software Bisque MyT Mount Stellarvue SVQ100 Astrograph Refractor, 580mm @ f/5.8 Software: Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.8 Lightroom CC Photoshop CC Light Frames: Luminance: 50 x 30 secs (25 mins) Red:50 x 60 secs (50 mins) Green:50 x 60 secs (50 mins) Blue: 49 x 60 secs (49 mins) 2 hrs 54 mins total Dark Frames: 10 x 30 secs, RGB (5 mins) 10 x 60 secs, Luminance (10 mins) Bias Frames 60 Flat Frames 10 each filter More from Wikipedia: Messier 13 or M13, also designated NGC 6205 and sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules or the Hercules Globular Cluster, is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules. About 145 light-years in diameter, M13 is composed of several hundred thousand stars, the brightest of which is a red giant, the variable star V11, also known as V1554 Herculis,[12] with an apparent visual magnitude of 11.95. M13 is 22,200–25,000 light-years away from Earth.[13]