Oh my god, its full of stars... - a photo on Flickriver

Oh my god, its full of stars...

            That's what went through my head when I first stumbled across the Double Cluster h & chi Persei (a.k.a. NGC 869 & NGC 884) through my small, newly-bought amateur telescope. Of course, when I recently had the rare chance of observing this magnificent pair through 16" double-newtonian "binoculars", the view was even more stunning...

Also astrophysically, the objects are something quite rare, as they appear to be two young open clusters that are not only a chance alignment, but actually gravitationally bound siblings!

Still, it's a great and easy-to-find object (actually even visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye under reasonable skies) that's a pleasure to look at in anything from handheld binoculars to high-end amateur telescopes. And it seemed a fitting target to try out my new camera, a Canon M50 Mk. II, together with the 1000 mm f/10 Maksutov lens, which frames the two clusters just nicely. Plus, it's close enough to the celestial pole that I can actually use the 1000 mm focal length on the Star Adventurer for once.
I'm quite happy with the new cam, as it also has a much more powerful live view than my old trusty Samsung NX30, making object alignment soooo much easier if you can also see a few fainter stars on the display.

Image info:
Optics: MC MTO-11CA 1000 mm f/10 Maksutov-Cassegrain telephoto lens
Camera: Canon M50 Mk. II (APS-C)
Filter: none
Mount: Skywatcher Star Adventurer
Acquisition: 49x 30 s @ ISO 3200
Correction: darks, flats
Stacking: Deep Sky Stacker
Post-processing: SiRiL (photometric calibration, background refinement, denoising, 2x2 binning, stretching)
Final touch: Luminar 2018
   

Taken on: December 7, 2023

Tags:

MC MTO-11 CA

Star Adventurer

Double Cluster

h & chi Persei

NGC 869

NGC 884

vintage lens

Deep Sky Stacker

SiRiL « less

Sets appears in: • Astrophotography

Groups appears in: • Amateur Astronomy • Night and darkness more » • Astrophotography - The Solar System and Beyond • Astrofotografie Deep Sky & Planets « less

Stats: 340 views / 2 comments

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