The summer constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpius skimming low across the south from my latitude of 51° N, above the trees from my backyard site in rural Alberta. In this version I added in labels for the major stars, constellations and the deep-sky objects that are easily visible in binoculars, if not to the naked eye. I also included a binocular field of view circle for scale. The M objects are from the Messier catalogue. Jupiter is the bright object right of centre; Saturn is left of centre. Altair is at upper left. A number of deep-sky objects show up, particularly the Messier nebulas and star clusters, as well as the Scutum Starcloud left of centre, and above it several large binocular open star clusters. The constellation of Ophiuchus is at right of centre occupying most of the frame. Aquila is at far left along the Milky Way. This is a stack of 4 x 1-minute tracked exposures with the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600 and Sigma 24mm lens at f/2.2, plus one of those exposures blended in for the ground to minimize its blurring. Another exposure taken through the Kenko Softon A filter was blended in to add the star glows, though light cloud this night added some glows naturally.
The area of the Sagittarius Starcloud, near the centre of the Galaxy, which is at right just above the red nebula, Gum 70. The small star cluster in the middle of the Sagittarius Starcloud is NGC 6520 and the dark nebula beside it B86. The small cluster at lower right is NGC 6451. This is a single 8-minute exposure at f/4.3 with the Borg 77mm astrograph, and Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 800. Clouds rolled in before I could take more frames for stacking.
The Sagittarius Starcloud toward the Galactic Centre, with the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas at top. The field of view simulates a binocular field, though the long exposure brings out far more than the eye can see. The small dark nebula at centre is B86 next to the small star cluster NGC 6520. The nebulas at top are M8 and M20. 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.
