Contains:  Star trails
Milky Way Center and Startrails, Gabriel R. Santos (grsotnas)

Milky Way Center and Startrails

Milky Way Center and Startrails, Gabriel R. Santos (grsotnas)

Milky Way Center and Startrails

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

This image is actually a result of a unforseen tracking error (actually, no tracking at all...) from my HEQ5 mount. I acidentally turned tracking off, and, even though the camera was in the mount, it was virtually fixed, as if on a tripod. This exposure was 180s or 3 minutes. Afterwards, with sideral tracking on, I took a 2 minute image, now with round and tight stars.

The result was a unique and different image, and there are several objects and interesting regions in the blurred light. The brightest one, to the left-hand side is the Milky Way's central part, and right "above" it, it is the emission nebula M8, along with its peer M20, a combination of Reflection, Dark and Emission Nebulae (these are commonly known as Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae). M6 and M7, as well as Cat's Paw and Lobster Nebula are also there, I invite you to try and find them. In the bottom/middle/right side, a few stars of the constellation Scorpius (the Scorpion) are visible, and the Nebulosity of Prawn Nebula is also apparent. Finally, the entire field is surrounded with dark nebulae and the milky way's beautiful structure, visible to the naked eye, especially from Dark, Southern Hemisphere locations.

The processing began in Lightroom CC, with basic RAW development and adjustments in each image individually. Then I used Photoshop CC to blend the images together using layers. The top layer is the untracked version, with a 40% opacity in the Lighten Blend Mode, in order to show the bottom, tracked layer, as well. Following this step I adjusted basic Levels, saved, and finally exported using LR.

Taken from Rural Skies (Bortle 3-4), in Cristina, MG, Brazil (latitude -22º). Thanks for seeing.

Camera: Unmodded T4i/650D at ISO 1600

Lens: Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM, @ f/3.5

Exposure Detail: Two frames: Tracked (round stars): 120s

. Untracked (trails): 180s

Comments

Revisions

  • Milky Way Center and Startrails, Gabriel R. Santos (grsotnas)
    Original
  • Final
    Milky Way Center and Startrails, Gabriel R. Santos (grsotnas)
    B

Histogram

Milky Way Center and Startrails, Gabriel R. Santos (grsotnas)