PLEIADES
The Pleiades (Messier 45 or M45) is also known as The Seven Sisters and other names by different cultures in the Taurus constellation. It is an open star cluster containing over a thousand stars loosely bound by gravity but is visually dominated by a handful of its brightest stars. Like fireworks illuminating dark clouds at night, the stars’ light reflects the surface of pitch-black clouds of cold gas and dust. At an average distance of 445 light-years away, it is among the nearest star clusters and the most apparent cluster to the naked eye.
November 11, 2020
I like to test out new gear and a new setup at home before I go out to shoot. This was “first light” with my new William Optics Zenithstar 61II and iOptron SkyGuider Pro from my Bortle 8 backyard in November 2020. Not the best, but decent considering the light pollution and it was my first attempt.
Details
Location: Whittier, California, USA (Bortle 8)
Date: November 11, 2020
Moon: Waning Crescent (15%)
Camera: Sony α7R III
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Adapter: William Optics 48mm T-mount for Sony E-mount
Filter: Optolong L-Pro
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro
Guide Camera: None
Guide Scope: None
Camera Settings: ISO 1600 | f/5.9 | 3 min 30 sec
Acquisition: 20 x 3 min 30 sec Lights | 20 Darks | 20 Flats | 20 Bias
Integration Time: 1 hour 10 min
Flickr Image 11/11/2020:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenkwuphotography/51929920072/in/album-72177720297270376/
November 14, 2020
Joshua Tree National Park has become a staple for our Milky Way nightscape photography and now also for deep-sky astrophotography. This image of Pleiades at Joshua Tree is my first successful attempt at imaging DSO at a dark location with my new telescope and star tracker. I spent a lot of time and effort researching telescopes and star trackers, gathering knowledge from articles/blogs and YouTube videos on the captures process and post-processing. That allowed me to get a head start before I received the equipment and resulted in an image I am proud of, considering I was new to deep-sky astrophotography.
Details
Location: Pinto Basin Sand Dunes Trailhead, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA (Bortle 4)
Date: November 14, 2020
Moon: New Moon (0%)
Camera: Sony α7R III
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Adapter: William Optics 48mm T-mount for Sony E-mount
Filter: None
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro
Guide Camera: None
Guide Scope: None
Camera Settings: ISO 1600 | f/5.9 | 2 min 30 sec
Acquisition: 40 x 2 min 30 sec Lights | 10 Darks | 20 Flats | 100 Bias
Integration Time: 1 hour 40 min
Flickr Image 11/14/2020:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenkwuphotography/51931521115/in/album-72177720297270456/