The Coal Sack and Jewel Box Cluster area on the east side of Crux, the Southern Cross. The Coal Sack, which to the eye looks like a large dark patch, under photography breaks up into small patches, the darkest just south of the Jewel Box Cluster, here just below and left of Becrux, or Beta Crucis. Other star clusters in the scene are NGC 4852 at top left, Trumpler 20 at right. and NGC 4609 at lower centre. The cluster at far right above Acrux is NGC 4349. The small intensely red area left of centre is the nebula Gum 46. The star at lower right is Acrux, Alpha Crucis. This is a stack of 5 x 8 minute exposures with the Borg 77mm astrographic apo refractor (330mm focal length) at f/4.3 and with the filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 800. Taken from Coonabarabran, Australia, March 2014.
The Coal Sack and Jewel Box Cluster area on the east side of Crux, the Southern Cross. The Coal Sack, which to the eye looks like a large dark patch, under photography breaks up into small patches, the darkest just south of the Jewel Box Cluster, here just below and left of Becrux, or Beta Crucis. Other star clusters in the scene are NGC 4852 at top left, Trumpler 20 at right. and NGC 4609 at lower right. The small intensely red area is the nebula Gum 46. This is a stack of 5 x 8 minute exposures with the Borg 77mm astrographic apo refractor (330mm focal length) at f/4.3 and with the filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 800. Taken from Coonabarabran, Australia, March 2014.
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.
