Enchanted Skies

Star Clusters

NGC 869 & 884 - The Perseus Double Cluster (imaged at 'Upham' N.M.)

The Double cluster Map of Region near the Double Cluster

 

Object Information                                            Imaging Details

The Perseus Double Cluster consists of two open clusters that are seperated by only 30 arc-seconds (about the width of the moon) visually, and are only a few hundred light years apart. Both clusters are naked eye objects just a short distance from the 'W' of Cassiopeia. Both are approximately 7000 light years from Earth

The star clusters are an ideal target for binoculars or a low power telescope. Both red and blue stars are visible.

This image was taken in November, 2006 at the ASLC's 'Upham' dark sky site. Skies were completely transparent; seeing was moderate.

Clicking on the image brings up a larger, more detailed image.

Telescope:

Orion ED80 (Prime focus)

Camera:
Canon 300D (type 1 modified)
Filter(s):
 
Misc. Optics:
Williams Optics 0.8x field flattener
Exposures:
3 x 2 minutes, 2 x 4 minutes. All @ ISO 800
Guiding:
Done with Celestron NexStar GPS 11. Guiding was with GuideDog using a ToUCam.
Processing:
Raws converted to Tiffs with Photoshop CS. Images aligned and stacked using Nebulosity. Curves/levels adjustments also performed with Photoshop CS3.

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Enchanted Skies - Astrophotography by Rich Richins (all images copyright, Rich Richins)