A panaoramic mosaic of the southern Milky Way region from the Coal Sack dark nebula and Alpha Cruxis, (aka Acrux) at left, to IC 2944/8, the Running Chicken Nebula, at right, with the star cluster, NGC 3766, above. The cluster IC 2714 is at the lower right corner. The star cluster NGC 4609 is left of Acrux, in the Coal Sack. This is a 3-panel mosaic, each panel a 4 x 6-minute exposure with the Borg 77mm f/4 astrograph and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Stacking and stitching in Photoshop CC 2015. Taken from Tibuc Cottage, Australia, April 11, 2016.
The Coathanger star cluster and asterism in the Milky Way in southern Cygnus, aka Collinder 399 or Brocchi’s Cluster. The field is similar to what a pair of large binoculars would show. I shot this from home Nov. 25, 2019. This is a stack of 6 x 2-minute unguided exposures with the 200mm Canon telephoto at f/2.8 and stock Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600. An additional exposure taken through the Kenko Softon A filter adds the star glows. All were with the camera on the Fornax LighTrack II tracker.
This area in Cygnus that contains the circular Cocoon Nebula, aka IC 5146, located at the end of the long dark nebula called the Dark Cigar but officially is Barnard 168. The nebulas are flanked by two open star clusters: NGC 7209 at far left just over the border in Lacerta, and Messier 39 at far right. NGC 7209 barely stands out amid the rich starfield here, just below an orange star, while M39 is bright but sparse at right. The clusters and dark nebula stand out well in binoculars but the Cocoon Nebula is a challenge to see in telescopes. This is a stack of 6 x 6-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrographic refractor at f/5 and the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800 with LENR on as it was the warmest night of the summer, August 18, 2020. Aligned, stacked and median combined in Photoshop to eliminate some satellite trails. Autoguided with the ZWO ASIAir and ASI120MM guide camera with the RedCat on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. No filters employed here.
