• Messier 45 in Taurus, Pleiades
    • M45
    Annotated image
  • The open cluster M45 with nebulosity in Taurus is
  • also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters.
  • Radiation pressure from the bright stars in the cluster
  • light up and push the surrounding interstellar dust.
  • Asteroid 164 Eva 12.40 shows as a brown smudge.
  • Hover over the image for an annotated view.
  • Date:  1 September 2022 (54 frames) and 15 January 2023 (61 frames)
  • FOV:  approximately 4° 32' × 3° 1'; the angular size of M45 is about 1.8°
  • Telescope:  Askar FRA300 pro (300mm f/5 Petzval)
  • Guiding:  ZWO ASI120MM mini mono guide camera,
  • ZWO 30F4 30mm mini guide scope
  • Computer:  ASIair pro Raspberry Pi
  • Mount:  iOptron CEM40
  • Camera:  ZWO ASI071MC Pro Cooled (-10°C) Color CMOS with gain 90
  • Filter:  Baader Light Pollution Moonglow filter with IR cut
  • Stacking:  One-hundred-fifteen 240 second frames using Pixinsight
  • Total Time:  7 hours 40 minutes
  • Processing:  Pixinsight – SPCC, DBE, SPCC, BlurXT, NoiseXT,
  • PixelMath 0.2*HST + 0.3*GHS + 0.5*MStr → Full
  • NoiseXT, StarXT, PixelMath (HST + GHS + MStr) → Nebulosity
  • Nebulosity, HDRMST → Neb6PhLm
  • PixelMath ScreenBlend Full and Neb6PhLm → Dusty, Sat, Scale
  • Location:  Darling Hill Observatory near Vesper, NY (1 September 2022)
  • and Selkirk Shores near Pulaski, NY (15 January 2023)