Saturday, January 6, 2018

Messier 45 - the Pleiades

Nothing in the night sky says winter to me quite like the Pleiades.  This naked-eye cluster has been interwoven with numerous cultures for centuries.  Commonly known as the Seven Sisters from Greek mythology, they are also know as the Nā hiku o Makali‘i  (Seven Little Eyes) from the Hawaiian tradition.  The gossamer-like nebulosity lit up by the stars are not part of the cluster itself, but rather a cloud of dust lying somewhere between us and the seven.  This was also one of the first images I attempted back in 2013 when I was first getting started.  I've reposted that image below for comparison.  Lots of reading, some equipment upgrades and more patience seems to have been beneficial :)  

Photo Details
January 6, 2018
AstroTech 65Q on VX Mount
SBIG STF-8300C Camera
Skyglow filter
42 subframes at 3 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 6 minutes
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

M45 Photographed in 2013

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