|
|
|
Instrument |
Takahashi FSQ-106ED @
f/5.0 (530 mm F.L.) Captured at 2.1 arcsec/pixel. The Zoomify
image scale is 4.2 to 10.85 arcsec / pixel |
|
Mount |
Losmandy G11 with Gemini L4 v1.0 |
|
Camera |
SBIG STF-8300M Self
Guiding Package w/ mono ST-i, using Baader LRGB filters. |
|
Acquisition Data |
1/7/2013 to 1/17/2013 Chino Valley, AZ... with CCDAutoPilot5
& CCDSoft. Off-axis guided. |
|
Exposure |
|
Lum |
390 min
(39 x 10 min, bin 1x1) |
|
Red |
70 min (
7 x 10 min, bin 1x1) |
|
Green |
90 min (
9 x 10 min, bin 1x1) |
|
Blue |
120 min (12 x 10 min, bin 1x1) |
|
|
Software |
-
CCDSoft, CCDStack,
Photoshop CS6, PixInsight and Noel Carboni's actions.
-
No SDSS stars were available for color balancing, so a standard image-train
color
calibration was used, as determined by
eXcalibrator v3.1.
-
CCDStack to calibrate,
register, normalize, data reject, combine the sub exposures and
create the RGB image.
-
PixInsight for
gradient removal and
initial non-linear stretching.
-
PhotoShop for the LRGB
combine, HDR Toning & final touch-up.
-
Noiseware 5, a PhotoShop plug-in.
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Comment |
North is to the top.
M45, the Pleiades cluster, is probably the most famous cluster in
the sky. The cluster is easily visible with the naked eye. However,
it is best viewed with binoculars or small telescopes.
Although the cluster is also called the Seven Sisters, it actually
contains over 3000 stars. Located in the constellation of Taurus,
M45 is about 400 light-years away and only 13 light-years across.
Pleiades is dominated by very hot and extremely luminous stars that
were formed within the last 100 million years. The stars illuminate
the dust in the area, creating the blue reflection nebula.
Astronomers once thought the cluster was created from this dust.
However, it is now known that the dust is unrelated and is simply a
dust cloud in the interstellar medium.
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