Double Cluster in Perseus, NGC884 and 869 Taken with William Optics FLT110 f/6.5 apo refractor with William Optics field flattener and Pentax 6x7 camera. 30 minute exposure. Taken from home Oct., 1, 2003. Ektachrome E200 slide film. Generous area around central object allows layout of text or design elements in sky around object/ Simulates field of view of large binoculars.
The well-known Double Cluster (aka NGC 884 and NGC 869) framed at upper right to include two of its companion star clusters, NGC 957 at upper left and Trumpler 2 at lower left. Dotted through the field of young blue stars are numerous aging yellow giant stars. And the gradation in sky colour from the clearer, bluer sky with more stars at right to the dustier, yellower sky and fewer stars at left is subtle but obvious here, from interstellar dust in this part of the Milky Way. This is a stack of 8 x 6-minute exposures at ISO 800 with the Canon Ra and on the StarField Optics Géar80 apo refractor with its matching reducer/flattener for f/4.8. Taken from home through breaks in passing clouds as part of testing of this new scope. No darks or LENR used, just dithering between each frame using the MGEN autoguider.
The well-known Double Cluster (aka NGC 884 and NGC 869) framed at upper right to include two of its companion star clusters, NGC 957 at upper left and Trumpler 2 at lower left. Dotted through the field of young blue stars are numerous aging yellow giant stars. And the gradation in sky colour from the clearer, bluer sky with more stars at right to the dustier, yellower sky and fewer stars at left is subtle but obvious here, from interstellar dust in this part of the Milky Way. This is a stack of 8 x 6-minute exposures at ISO 800 with the Canon Ra and on the StarField Optics Géar80 apo refractor with its matching reducer/flattener for f/4.8. Taken from home through breaks in passing clouds as part of testing of this new scope. No darks or LENR used, just dithering between each frame using the MGEN autoguider. Diffraction spikes added with AstronomyTools actions in Photoshop for artistic effect.
