Target:
Messier 47, an open star cluster ~1.6 thousand light years away in the constellation Puppis. Aged at ~78 million years old, M67 contains ~500 stars dominated by hot class B main sequence and giant stars.
Target coordinates: Right Ascension: 07h 36.6m, Declination: −14° 30′.
Data acquired on 31/12/2017 in Sia, Cyprus, Bortle Scale 5 and processed on 15/05/2018 in Ronkonkoma, NY, USA.
German Equatorial Mount:
Celestron Advanced VX + Skyportal WiFi + NexRemote 1.7.3.
Telescope:
Skywatcher Esprit Triplet Apochromat ø80mm fl:400mm f/5 + dedicated field flattener with Sky's The Limit 2" UV/IR filter.
Camera:
Qhyccd 183C sony sensor with AR+AR coatings.
Sensor resolution:
5544x3684 / 20 Megapixels (cropped to 5265x3415).
Image scale resolution:
1.24" per pixel. Field of View 1.81° x 1.17°.
Capture details:
67 x 30s exposures - 2010s / 33.5 minutes total integration. Gain: 36 / 67%. Offset: 36. Temperature: -23°C. Binning: 1x1. Colour space: RAW16.
Calibration exposures - Darks; None. Flats: None. Bias: None.
Filter Wheel:
QHYCFW2-S 6x1.25" set at Optolong Clear Glass.
Guiding:
Off.
Software:
Planetarium control with Cartes du Ciel 4.1 through ASCOM 6.3 - slew command sent to Messier's initial "lost" coordinates, hence why target is not centre-framed and off to the right. Data acquired and plate solved in SharpCap 3.1 and stacked in DSS 4.1.1. 16-bit file post-processed in Pixinsight 1.8 & Photoshop CC 2018.
Full resolution image:
http://nova.astrometry.net/image/4721402Data acquisition and processing by Dr. Minos Kritikos.
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