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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada(275 km by road north of Toronto)* Temperature 15 degrees C.
Total exposure time: 24 minutes.
Visually with the unaided eye, or in binoculars or a telescope, the distinctively-shaped North America Nebula (left), and the Pelican Nebula just to its right, appear as faint white clouds in the middle of our Milky Way galaxy. Long exposures with a digital camera sensor reveal the red glow of hydrogen gas, however, especially with Nikon's new red sensitive D810a camera.
This evening in the park was foggy and steamy, with dew settling quickly on exposed lens and telescope parts. As well, the Moon set very late (after 01.30 in the morning), so I had only two hours to capture all of the frames for this image, and three others that I wanted to get, before morning twilight started to appear in the eastern sky. This image, showing more than 34,000 stars, is the result.
For another view with the same lens a year ago, click here:
www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/14363709797/... and for a closer-in view of this object through a 102 mm (4") telescope, click here:
www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/15220775347/___________________________________________
Nikkor AF-S 80 - 400 mm f/4.5 - 5.6 G ED VR lens on Nikon D810a camera body, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount with a Kirk Enterprises ball head
Twelve stacked frames; each frame:400 mm focal length; ISO 6400; 2 minutes exposure at f/8
(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)
Stacked in RegiStar;
Processed in Photoshop CS6 (brightness, contrast, levels, sharpening, colour desaturation)
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