M45 - The Pleiades - LRGB

[tollytastic1]

Lovely image, on a rainy day I feel so much better just by looking at it. Well done.

[frugal]

Thank you lensman & Rico.

You're absolutely right, AG, to only lose one 10 minute sub is not a bad result at all! I'm just curious as to how others manage to clip out such artefacts in stacking.

I tend to have a go at stacking with the frame in the stack, and if there is any evidence of the trail in the final image I throw the frame away and re-stack it.

[PhotoGav]

I suspect that the four diffraction spikes that I am seeing on the brighter stars are a result of the sensor in use - the KAF 8300 micro-lenses are known to produce this artefact.

That's interesting Steve. I'm not normally a fan of spikes, but I can live with these little suggestions of spikes!

Thank you @ciels noirs, Lensman57 & tollytastic1. As for shooting a DSO right next to the moon... There's only one outcome with that. I know the feeling though, sometimes you just have to give it a try!

@frugal, that's exactly what I did...

[PhotoGav]

Finally I have had the chance to fiddle with the image a bit, acting on some of the suggestions (thank you for those). I tried to eek out a bit more nebulosity, but failed to make any improvement without upsetting other elements of the image, so gave up. I have balanced the background, which was out by several points. This has also had the effect of enhancing the blues a little. So, many thanks for the feedback.

I hope everyone is enjoying a sparkly cold, clear and dark sky out there tonight!

[michael23]

That is a lovely image Gav, I do like the slightly darker background in your 2nd version. 

[PhotoGav]

Thanks Michael. It's a fairly subtle difference with version 2, but I think it is significantly better, glad to hear that you think so too!