Beta Cruxis, or Becrux aka Mimosa, the second brightest star in the Southern Cross, Crux. It is a blue star 280 light years away. This is a superb double star but is not resolved here. Small star clusters NGC 4852 (at left) and NGC 4755 (at below left) appear near Becrux. The latter is the famous Jewel Box Cluster. The north edge of the Coal Sack apepars at bottom. The large cluster Trumpler 20 is at right. I shot this April 3, 2016 from the Tibuc Cottage, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia using the 77mm f/4 astrographic refractor and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, for a stack of 4 x 6 minute exposures at ISO 1600.
The Belt and Sword of Orion, taken from home, Feb 1, 2013. Taken as part of testing of a Hutech-modified Canon 6D camera. This is with the 135mm lens at f/2.8 and is a stack of 2 x 4 minute at ISO 800 and 2 x 2 minute at ISO 1600. Some light haze moving in.
The Belt and Sword region of Orion, with the Orion Nebula, Messiesr 42 and 43, at bottom. Below the left star of the Belt, Alnitak, is the famous Horsehead Nebula, while above it is NGC 2024, aka the Flame Nebula. The field is filled with faint red emission and blue reflection nebulas. The large loose open cluster Collinder 70 surrounds the middle star of the Belt, Alnilam. The field is similar to that of binoculars. This is a stack of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures with the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1250 and 200mm Canon L-Series lens at f/2.8. Some light haze passing through in some exposures added the natural star glows. I left those in as part of the stack to add the glows. I did not take shorter exposures to blend in for the core of the Orion Nebula. Next time! Taken with the Fornax Lightrack tracker as part of testing. Taken from home on a rare fine and mild winter night, January 4, 2019. Diffraction spikes added with Astronomy Tools. Main images stacked with Median stack mode to eliminate satellite trails from geosats that populate this area of sky.
