Messier 35 and NGC 2158

 

Messier 35 or M35, also known as NGC 2168, is an open cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Gemini. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux around 1745 and independently discovered by John Bevis before 1750. The cluster is scattered over an area of the sky almost the size of the full moon and is located 3,870 light-years (1,186 parsecs) from Earth. The compact open cluster NGC 2158 lies directly southwest of M35. 

Imaging Telescope: Vixen ED81s f/7.7 

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod) 

Camera: QHY 533M 

Filter Wheel: QHY CFW3S-SR 

Filters: L,R,G,B

Guiding camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini (mono)

Guidescope: SkyWatcher EvoGuide 50ED

Constellation: Gemini

Date: 27-28 April 2024 

Location: Kifisia - Athens, Greece

Sky brightness: B7

Exposure Time: 

L: 40x60 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1 

R: 40x60 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1 

G: 40x60 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1  

B: 40x60 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1

Acquisition: N.I.N.A v3 

Processing: Pixinsight, Photoshop

M11 - Wild Duck Cluster

 

Featured above is the Wild Duck star cluster (also known as M11) sitting in the constellation of Scutum the Shield. Composed of nearly 3,000 stars, this compact grouping, one of the most compact open star clusters, lies some 6000 light years away. As viewed from the Northern Hemisphere it resides in the southern sky, within the glow of the Milky Way and between the constellations of Aquila and Sagittarius. Though it's highest in the sky in late summer and early fall, it can only be observed with a moderate-sized telescope. Detecting a duck of any kind in this cluster is no more challenging than identifying a shield in Scutum. 

Imaging Telescope: Vixen ED81s f/7.7 

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod) 

Camera: QHY 533M 

Filter Wheel: QHY CFW3S-SR 

Filters: L,R,G,B

Guiding camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini (mono)

Guidescope: SkyWatcher EvoGuide 50ED

Constellation: Scutum

Date: 15-16 August-2023 

Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory 1

Sky brightness: B7

Exposure Time: 

L: 12x120 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1 

R: 12x120 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1 

G: 12x120 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1  

B: 12x120 sec (gain: 56.00, offset: 12.00) 0°C bin 1×1

Calibration Frames: Darks, Flats, Dark Flats 

Acquisition: ACP Expert, MaximDL 

Processing: Pixinsight, Photoshop

NGC 7789: Caroline's Rose

 

Found among the rich starfields of the Milky Way, star cluster NGC 7789 lies about 8,000 light-years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia. A late 18th century deep sky discovery of astronomer Caroline Lucretia Herschel, the cluster is also known as Caroline's Rose. Its flowery visual appearance in small telescopes is created by the cluster's nestled complex of stars and voids. Now estimated to be 1.6 billion years young, the galactic or open cluster of stars also shows its age. All the stars in the cluster were likely born at the same time, but the brighter and more massive ones have more rapidly exhausted the hydrogen fuel in their cores. These have evolved from main sequence stars like the Sun into the many red giant stars shown with a yellowish cast in this lovely color composite. Using measured color and brightness, astronomers can model the mass and hence the age of the cluster stars just starting to "turn off" the main sequence and become red giants. Over 50 light-years across, Caroline's Rose spans about half a degree (the angular size of the Moon) near the center of the wide-field telescopic image.

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod)

Guiding: ST-237 guide chip of SBIG ST2000XM

Camera: SBIG ST2000XM

Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9

Filters: L,R,G,B

CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Date: August 8-9, 2021

Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory 1

Exposure:

L=12x600 min bin 1x1

R=12x300 min bin 1x1

G=12x300 min bin 1x1

B=12x300 min bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

The Muscleman Cluster: Stock 2 Open Cluster in Cassiopeia

 

Stock 2 (OCL 348, Lund 71 and the Muscleman Cluster) is a class I 2 m open cluster of 54 stars in Cassiopeia. This is one of 24 open clusters compiled by Jurgen Stock in the 1950s. A full list can be found here - http://www.deepskypedia.com/wiki/List:Stock.

Technical details:

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro (belt mod)

Guiding: ST-237 guide chip of SBIG ST2000XM

Camera: SBIG ST2000XM

Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9

Filters: Ha,L,R,G,B

CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Date: August 3-4, 2021

Location: Korinthos - Greece - Albireo Observatory 1

Exposure:

L=12x600 min bin 1x1

R=12x300 min bin 1x1

G=12x300 min bin 1x1

B=12x300 min bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

M29

M29 is a small packet of 80 stars contained in a tiny 10' sphere of sky. It lies in a dense region of Milky Way that runs the length of the celestial Swan (Cygnus) - a region laced with dark lanes of interstellar dust. It would be no doubt be a more striking sight were it not for the dense obscuring matter that veils the region.

Optics: VixenVC200L @ f/6.4

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Synscan Pro

Guiding: 9x50 finderscope, DMK21AU04, PHD2 guiding

Camera: SBIG ST2000XM

Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9

Filters: L,R,G,B,Ha

CCD Temperature: 0 degrees Celsius

Constellation: Cygnus

Date: July 5/6, 2019

Location: Albireo Observatory I - Korinthos, Greece

Exposure: L:R:G:B:Ha=30:30:30:30:150 min bin 1x1

Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias

NGC 6871

NGC 6871 is a small, young open cluster in the constellation of Cygnus. The cluster has less than 50 members, most of which are blue and white stars. It is located 5135 light-years from Earth.

Optics: Vixen ED81s @ f/5.2
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 synscan Pro
Guiding: SBIG ST2000XM ST4
Camera: SBIG ST2000XM
Filter Wheel: SBIG CFW9
Filters: Astronomik LRGB
CCD Temperature: -10 degrees Celsius
Constellation: Cygnus
Date: Aug 17, 2018
Location: Sekoulas - Ileia - Greece - Albireo Observatory 2
Exposure
L: 10x10 min bin 1x1
R:G:B: 10x5 min bin 2x2
Calibration: Darks, Flats, Bias