This is the first star cluster I've imaged. I honestly had little desire to shoot star clusters as I never really found them that interesting. That all changed a few weeks ago when I saw Elmiko's version of this object:
https://www.astrobin.com/49tvtq/I thought his version looked great and I realized I was being short sighted (no pun intended) with regard to star clusters.
A couple of other firsts with this image:
1. I started imaging a few years ago with an SCT and a Hyperstar. Obviously not the best scope to start with, however the Hyperstar definitely helped with the learning curve. For this object I used a refractor for the first time and I have to say, "WOW!", I should of done this a while ago. The refractor was so much easier to image with including the flat frames. I will definitely be using this scope more often.
2. I came across a link here from Mike Cranfield regarding the Generalised Hyperbolic Stretch script in Pixinsight.
https://www.astrobin.com/forum/c/astrophotography/deep-sky-processing-techniques/generalisedhyperbolicstretch-version-220-improved-image-stretching-for-pixinsight-users/Upon reading about it, I downloaded and used it for the first time on this image and I have to say that I'm really impressed with the results. Stretching my images was something I've always struggled with and I was never really satisfied with the results with the various processes in PI. I really like the GHS because if gives you a way to stretch your images using quantifiable options, for me it takes some of the guess work out.
I hope you like it!
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