This frames most of the constellation of Perseus, emphasizing the bright and dark nebulas within it, as well as the star clusters in and around the constellation suitable for binoculars or a telescope. At top is the IC 1805/1848 complex known as the Heart and Soul Nebulas. At lower left is a small emission nebula NGC 1491. Beside it are the star clusters NGC 1528 and 1545. At lower centre is the Messier cluster M34, while over the border in Andromeda is the large and loose star cluster NGC 752, at lower right. Algol is the star at bottom centre. At lower left is Mirfak surrounded by the Perseus OB Association of young blue stars. At top centre is the famous showpiece, the Double Cluster. The Milky Way is streaked with yellowish dust clouds, contrasting with the bluer sky off the Milky Way at right. The most prominent dark nebula is from the Barnard Catalogue, B8/B11, at far left. This is a stack of 27 x 3-minute exposures with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 50mm and at f/2.8, on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 1600, on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Shot with an URTH Night light pollution filter. Taken from home October 7, 2021. Luminosity mask adjustments applied with Lumenzia. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar AI.
The region in Serpens and Ophiuchus containing the Serpens-Ophiuchus (S-O) Double Cluster, here at top left, and the large binocular cluster IC 4655 above the cyan-tinted star Cebalrai, here at right. The S-O pair is made of IC 4756 (left) and NGC 6633 (right). Included near centre is the V-shaped asterism known as Taurus Poniatowski or the “Little Bull,” a group that resembles the Hyades in Taurus. The group was named for the King of Poland, Stanislaus Poniatowski in 1777 by Marcin Poczobutt. The constellation pattern was never accepted but the asterism, now in Ophiuchus, is a fine one for binoculars. This is a stack of 3 x 3-minute exposures with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D at ISO 800, plus an additional 3 min exposure through the Kenko Softon filter to add the star glows. Taken from home July 29, 2019. All tracked on the MSM SiFo Tracker from China as part of testing. At this focal length the little MSM tracker proved problematic as many frames were trailed. It was not reliable enough in its tracking to yield pinpoint stars in most shots.
The two large open star clusters straddling the Serpens-Ophiuchus border and thus called the S-O Double Cluster. They are IC 4756 at left, a very large and scattered group, and NGC 6633 at right, a more concentrated group. Both are best seen with binoculars, and the field of the 200mm telephoto lens used here simulates a binocular field of view. This is a stack of 6 x 2-minute exposures with the 200mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 800.
