The Pleiades

  • Also known under the name “The Seven Sisters” and “Messier 45”, this beautiful open cluster located in the constellation Taurus is a spectacular sight to behold even without a telescope. Under a dark sky, it is one of the most densely packed regions of stars visible to the naked eye. But with longer exposures taken with the help of photographic equipment, long exposures reveal dust surrounding the already astounding cluster of stars.

    The blue hue of the dust near the cluster is due to the reflection of starlight.

    The data for this image was collected back on November 7th, 2021. Due to short breaks in a clear sky (clouds and trees), very little integration time went into this image.

  • 24 x 120sec Luminance
    15 x 120sec Red
    7 x 120sec Green
    4 x 120sec Blue

    Total: 1h40min

  • 0 gain, 30 offset, -20°C, 2x2 bin

  • Imaging cam - ZWO asi294mm pro

    Filter - Baader LRGB filters

    Guiding cam - ZWO asi290mm mini

    Imaging scope - WO RedCat51

    Guidescope - Starfield 60mm

    Mount - AVX

    ASIAIR Plus

    Stacked and processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop

  • The Laurentians, Canada (Bortle ~4)

  • March 27th, 2021