The rich region in the tail of Scorpius with star clusters, nebulas and Milky Way starclouds. The area contains the bright star clusters Messier 6 (at top left) and Messier 7 (at bottom left but lost in the star fields). M6 is the Butterfly Cluster, and M7 is Ptolemy’s Cluster. The bright stars at lower right are Shaula and Lesath in the tail of Scorpius. The nebulas at right are NGC 6357 (top) and NGC 6334 (bottom), aka the Cat’s Paw Nebula. This is a stack of 5 x 2-minute exposures with the 200mm lens at f/2.8 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Tracked on the AP 400 mount, unguided. From Tibuc Gardens Cottage.
The spectacular field of Messier 6 and 7 open star clusters in Scorpius, with M7, aka Ptolemy’s Cluster, embedded in the dense starfields of the galactic centre at right, and M6, the Butterfly Cluster, set against the darker dust lanes of the Milky Way. I shot this April 4, 2016 from the Tibuc Cottage at Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, using the 77mm Borg f/4 astrograph for a stack of 5 x 6-minute exposures with the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Diffraction spikes added with Astronomy Tools actions.
The spectacular field of Messier 8 and 20 emission and reflection nebulas in Sagittarius, with M8, aka the Lagoon Nebula below, and M20, the Trifid Nebula, above, all set in the rich starfields of the Milky Way. The diffuse nebula left of M8 is NGC 6559. A globular cluster, NGC 6544, sits below and to the left (east) of M8. The Messier open cluster, M21, sits above M20. I shot this April 6, 2016 from the Tibuc Cottage at Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, using the 77mm Borg f/4 astrograph for a stack of 5 x 5-minute exposures with the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600.
