The constellation of Canis Major and nearby open clusters and nebulas, taken from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, December 13/14, 2012, with Sigma 50mm lens at f/3.2 and the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800 for stack of 6 x 4 minute exposures. M41 is below Sirius, M46 and M47 are to the left edge of frame. M50 is above the Seagull Nebula, IC 2177 at upper left. Some exposures had light cirrus cloud passing through which added the star glows naturally. I have turned Canis Major right side up but from Australia it would appear upside down -- the part of the frame closest to the horizon when I took this was the top of the frame. Sirius is at upper centre, vastly overexposed.
The southern sky and Milky Way from Canopus (at lower right) up to the Carina Nebula at upper left, with the False Cross in the centre, made of stars from Vela and Carina. The Large Magellanic Cloud is at lower left. NGC 2516 is the large open cluster at centre. The large magenta nebula is the Gum Nebula in Vela. This is a stack of 4 x 2.5 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 35mm Canon prime lens, and filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600. Taken from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, April 2014. Star glows added with a separate exposure taken thru the Kenko Softon filter.
A mosaic of the amazingly rich area of Carina and Centaurus with their many superb nebulas and star clusters in this southernmost area of the Milky Way. The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) is at upper right; the Running Chicken Nebula (IC 2948) is at lower left (aka the Lambda Centauri Nebula). The small red and magenta nebulas at centre are NGC 3603 and NGC 3576. The Southern Pleiades cluster (IC 2602) is at bottom right. The Pearl Cluster (NGC 3766) is above the Running Chicken at left. The cluster IC 2714 is to the right of the Chicken amid dark nebulas. The Gem Cluster (NGC 3324) is above and right of the Carina Nebula but small and unresolved here. The Football Cluster (NGC 3532) is top centre, though partly lost amid the rich starfield. This is a mosaic of three segments, taken with the camera in portrait orientation, stitched with Photoshop to make a square framing of the area. Each segment was a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 200mm Canon L-series lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 2500. Tracked on the AP400 mount but unguided. Shot from Tibuc Gardens Cottage, Coonabarabran, Australia.
