My God, Its Full of Stars

Image Details:

This is a closeup on the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud, best viewed in mid-late Summer to the South from 37N. Stars skew towards being yellow-white in this area since new (blue) stars are not bring formed (with Orange Giant stars being the brightest in the population), making the area glow a pale yellow in long exposure photos. To the naked eye this is the brightest observable section of the Milky Way, with it casting shadows from the darkest areas of the world.


Equipment:

  • William Optics Star71-II Petzval APO (345mm Focal Length, F/4.9)

  • ZWO ASI1600MM-P, ZWO Filters

  • Hypertuned Celestron CGEM-II

  • Autoguiding: Orion 50mm Guidescope + ZWO ASI224MC

Exposures:

  • Luminance: 144 x 180” (Total: 7h 12m)

  • Red, Green, Blue: 17, 17, 17 x 120” (Total: 1h 42m)

Misc Details:

  • Capture Software: AstrophotographyTool, PHD2 (guiding), Celestron CPWI (mount control), Pegasus Powerbox (dew heater control, power management)

  • Processing Software: PixInsight

  • Taken from: Wichita, KS, Bortle 4

  • Capture Dates: 11 July, 27-28 August, 5 September, 2021


Annotation