The Pleiades (M45)
Mar 21, 2024 01:32:25 #
Captured with a Sony A7R V camera and Astro-Tech 65EDQ scope with a Hutech HEUIB-II filter on a Celestron Evolution mount; 215x30 sec. subs @ ISO3200.
Alignment, stacking and initial stretch done in PixInsight. The remainder of the postprocessing was done in Lightroom and Photoshop (A-P).
I shot the subs for this target the same night as my M87 and M81-M82 sessions. It has taken me innumerable iterations, restarts and attempts at bringing out the reflection nebulosity (the filter I used didn't help!) and enhancing the star color. I also attempted to remove the field rotation due to shooting 30 sec. subs off an Alt/Az mount. I got rid of the field rotation but introduced star stretch on the edges of the image; the correct star repair is somewhere between the two extremes. For now this rendition is as good as it gets...
Enjoy!
bwa
Alignment, stacking and initial stretch done in PixInsight. The remainder of the postprocessing was done in Lightroom and Photoshop (A-P).
I shot the subs for this target the same night as my M87 and M81-M82 sessions. It has taken me innumerable iterations, restarts and attempts at bringing out the reflection nebulosity (the filter I used didn't help!) and enhancing the star color. I also attempted to remove the field rotation due to shooting 30 sec. subs off an Alt/Az mount. I got rid of the field rotation but introduced star stretch on the edges of the image; the correct star repair is somewhere between the two extremes. For now this rendition is as good as it gets...
Enjoy!
bwa
Mar 21, 2024 11:27:45 #
Well, it looks great to me, Brian.
Much better than what I can do.
You brought out the nebulosity that is so faint.
Much better than what I can do.
You brought out the nebulosity that is so faint.
Mar 21, 2024 12:04:43 #
SonnyE wrote:
Well, it looks great to me, Brian.
Much better than what I can do.
You brought out the nebulosity that is so faint.
Much better than what I can do.
You brought out the nebulosity that is so faint.
There is still a whole lot of reflection nebulosity outside of the main M45 cluster. Next time I'll simply use a UV/IR filter.
But I'll have to wait for a '2nd' spring... Only another couple of months of snow!
bwa
This morning; Spring in Alberta!
Mar 31, 2024 10:41:41 #
That's going to be a great image of the 7 sisters Brian. It's another year without snow for us but, the relentless wind and rain 5in of rain every week has everything green and the tree pollen is off the chart. I've got another 5 weeks of post operation healing before I'll even attempt to uncover the Black Widow.
Mar 31, 2024 12:20:23 #
stepping beyond wrote:
That's going to be a great image of the 7 sisters Brian. It's another year without snow for us but, the relentless wind and rain 5in of rain every week has everything green and the tree pollen is off the chart. I've got another 5 weeks of post operation healing before I'll even attempt to uncover the Black Widow.
Get well! The sky's awaiting.
bwa
Apr 7, 2024 13:39:12 #
bwana wrote:
There is still a whole lot of reflection nebulosity outside of the main M45 cluster. Next time I'll simply use a UV/IR filter.
But I'll have to wait for a '2nd' spring... Only another couple of months of snow!
bwa
But I'll have to wait for a '2nd' spring... Only another couple of months of snow!
bwa
When my Mom, Dad, and Baby Sister came to visit us in Wyoming, we were on the last bit of two storms that dropped 2' and 3' of snow in the same week. Really muddy!
Dad said, "I'd forgotten about Mud Season."
Dad grew up in Alton, Illonois; on a farm. So he remember the Spring Mud Season.
One of the most memorable parts of 7 years in Wyoming was the cold for me. First freeze was in Mid-September, often a cold snap in November of sub-zero, and deep sub-zero in January. Snow could be up to 9 months of the year. When it got up to zero I called it T-Shirt weather.
My blood got so thick that one time I cut my finger pretty bad. The blood didn't flow, it oozed.
They told me, "The snow never melts in Wyoming. It just wears out from blowin back and forth."
God Bless you hearty souls who can live that far North and enjoy it.
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