M45 - Click for a larger picture
"The Pleiades" is Messier object 45, and is also known as "The Seven Sisters." It is an open star cluster and features a nice blue reflection nebula. As it resembles a small dipper, it is often mistaken for the Little Dipper. (The real Little Dipper is much larger and always directly North.) Generally there are only 6 stars clearly visible in this object, and there's been discussion as to why there are seven sisters instead of six. This object is quite high in the sky and well-placed for viewing in the Fall. More info about The Pleiades is at SEDS. Quoting SEDS: Their Japanese name is "Subaru", which was taken to christen the car of same name. The Persian name is "Soraya", after which the former Iranian empress was named. Old European (e.g., English and German) names indicate they were once compared to a "Hen with Chicks".
Galaxy UGC2838 is visible on the lower right, especially on the larger picture. The Sky has that as a mag 17.88
Image details: 20x4 minute exposures (80minutes total exp) on 2 nights, 1/02/06 and 10/28/05. Takahashi TOA 130 (a 5" APO refractor) and Canon EOS D20a.
Imaging data from this evening1/02/06; The images from this session feature 69 averaged flat frames median combined, along with 16 dark frames averaged. Temperature ranged from ~51 degrees F at the start of imaging to 42 degrees when I was packing up and doing my last darks. My current image processing workflow is here.
Image Info:
8x4 minute exposures = 32 minutes total, ISO800
Canon EOS 20Da (unmodified), Takahashi TOA 130 (a 5" APO refractor), Losmandy G-11 mount.
Images from NHAC Neal dark sky observing site, 10/28/2005, ambient temp about 48 degrees,
SBIG STV autoguider using Celestron ST-80 guidescope
Combined in Registar, No darks, lights, or flats; moderate crop of original,
Processed in Photoshop, saved as 1200 pixels wide
This is a driveway shot from about 7:15 p.m., just as Alcyone slid past the terminator and the Moon slid past some pine tree branches! It's a tiny blip at the bottom. This is a 6 second exposure at ISO 100. Local sunset was at 6:40 p.m., making this shot 35 minutes after sunset. Takahashi TOA 130 (a 5" APO refractor) and Canon EOS D20a.
-m45-meteor.jpg)
Meteor through M45! This is a single 4 minute exposure from the series above...
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