M35 in Gemini

[Galen Gilmore]

M35 Star Cluster in Gemini

Equipment Details:

-Skywatcher 130PDS

-Skywatcher EQ5, R.A. Motors, unguided

-Canon Rebel T3i, Astro Modified

 

Acquisition Details:

-30 x 2min Lights

-6 x 2mins darks

-20 Flats

 

Processing:

-Deep Sky Stacker (DSS)

-Photoshop

(Cropping out stacking artifacts -> leveling -> slight color balance -> small curve stretch -> remove vignetting using lasso tool -> crop again to put more focus on the clusters -> saturation and more color balance.)

 

I was really proud of how this turned out. It may not look like much to you, but for someone who has below average equipment, and only has enough time to image during the weekends (when there is no moon, and it isn't cloudy mind you), this is great stuff for me. I also have heavy light pollution to my west, which causes a terrible gradient on any target even slightly west from the zenith.

 

Thanks for looking!

[Adreneline]

I like this a lot - especially the star colours.

Hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of plate-solving in Astrometry.net - you bagged yourself a serious number of targets in one image!

Excellent!

Adrian

[alacant]

1 hour ago, Galen Gilmore said:

below average equipment,

Hi

So it maybe, but way above average in dedication and the true spirit of the art.

Superb shot. Well done.

Edited March 9, 2020 by alacant

[Galen Gilmore]

1 hour ago, Adreneline said:

I like this a lot - especially the star colours.

Hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of plate-solving in Astrometry.net - you bagged yourself a serious number of targets in one image!

Excellent!

Adrian

Thank you! The star colors are one of the biggest improvements in this image compared to my other images.

33 minutes ago, alacant said:

Hi

So it maybe, but way above average in dedication and the true spirit of the art.

Superb shot. Well done.

Thank you! Despite my busy schedule, astronomy always finds its way back into my free time.