The Seven Sisters

[Graeme]

Or perhaps more accurately, the Seven Siblings and their Mum and Dad.

The Pleiades, Messier 45, or as the Japanese call them, Subaru, are a co-moving loose collection of hot young stars in Taurus. They're passing through a huge cloud of gas which reflects their light.

M45_02_LRGB_01_EL.jpg

[HansV]

Beautiful! You had a clear night again?

[Graeme]

Thanks Hans. Yes it was clear from sunset till about midnight. I put my longer focal length telescope away and used the wider angle refractor for this image. It's the first time it's been on the pier in the observatory. So I had to spend some time calibrating the guiding so it could stay on target. But I did manage three hours of one minute exposures.

I went out to pack up when the clouds started appearing to a very clear sky (between the clouds!) and saw the Winter Hexagon, not seen since last winter! I stood and stared for a good while.

[Graeme]

Had another go at this one last night collecting just under three hours of two minute exposures.

M45_LRGB_EL.jpg

[HansV]

Different colour filter?

[stuck]

Both are good but I think I prefer the first one.

Ken

[Graeme]

Different colour filter?

Same filters but the guiding set up was wrong on the first attempt. I told the guiding software that the focal length of the telescope was 110mm (the objective lens diameter!) So the blue was seen as noise for some reason which made the resulting image overly green. When I removed the green and balanced what was left there wasn't much colour left! The guiding on the second one was spot on.

[Graeme]

Both are good but I think I prefer the first one.

Ken

Cheers Ken

The subtle almost monochrome? The nebulosity detail is slightly more evident which is nice but the blue is because it's reflected light and was my aim to capture it.

[HansV]

Thanks, Graeme

[stuck]

...The nebulosity detail is slightly more evident which is nice...

Yes, that's why I prefer the first one, even though I now understand that the blue one is more true to life.

Ken