Jkulin Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 I nearly forgot about this little gem of the night skies, a really lovely double cluster that wasn't too bad to process. Just over 4 hours of data. This was taken with my Altair Astro 26c CMOS camera, Esprit 100 Scope, iOptron 40EC mount, using an OAG with a Lodestar X2 Guide Camera, Pegasus UPB. This was erected outside of my observatory so that I could image other subjects at the same time. I still have a slight issue with my backfocus, which I can work on in the summer nights. More details here: - https://www.astrobin.com/ajw33o/ Here's the bumf: - A great naked eye telescope sight in a wide angle eyepiece, this is the wonderful Double Cluster in Perseus, although it's easier to find by looking down from the left hand side of the W of Cassiopeia. This sparkling pair of clusters are among the youngest known in the galaxy, easily visible without optics in dark sky as a hazy patch 4 degrees west-northwest of eta Persei. The Double Cluster has been known since antiquity as a faint cloud in the northern Milky Way. William Herschel first discovered the nature of this pair, now catalogued as NGC 884 and NGC 869. Each cluster contains some 300 stars, some of which are immensely bright: 50,000x more luminous than our Sun. The clusters probably formed out of the same molecular cloud in the Perseus Arm only 3-5 million years ago, making them among the youngest star clusters known. The Pleiades, by comparison, is more than 100 million years old. Despite their great distance of some 7,000 light years, the two clusters span 1.5-2.0 degrees of sky, so use a low-power eyepiece to take them all in...40mm on my old 14" f/10 scope used to work well.. The view in a telescope is truly breathtaking,. There are many colours in these young stars: sapphire blue, topaz, white, and the red glow of swelling giant stars moving towards their violent end as supernovae. If the Double Cluster were as close as the Pleiades, they would span a quarter of the northern sky. Many of its 600 stars would shine as bright as Vega. Quite a thing! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstronomyUkraine Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 33 minutes ago, Jkulin said: I nearly forgot about this little gem of the night skies, a really lovely double cluster that wasn't too bad to process. Just over 4 hours of data. This was taken with my Altair Astro 26c CMOS camera, Esprit 100 Scope, iOptron 40EC mount, using an OAG with a Lodestar X2 Guide Camera, Pegasus UPB. This was erected outside of my observatory so that I could image other subjects at the same time. I still have a slight issue with my backfocus, which I can work on in the summer nights. More details here: - https://www.astrobin.com/ajw33o/ Here's the bumf: - A great naked eye telescope sight in a wide angle eyepiece, this is the wonderful Double Cluster in Perseus, although it's easier to find by looking down from the left hand side of the W of Cassiopeia. This sparkling pair of clusters are among the youngest known in the galaxy, easily visible without optics in dark sky as a hazy patch 4 degrees west-northwest of eta Persei. The Double Cluster has been known since antiquity as a faint cloud in the northern Milky Way. William Herschel first discovered the nature of this pair, now catalogued as NGC 884 and NGC 869. Each cluster contains some 300 stars, some of which are immensely bright: 50,000x more luminous than our Sun. The clusters probably formed out of the same molecular cloud in the Perseus Arm only 3-5 million years ago, making them among the youngest star clusters known. The Pleiades, by comparison, is more than 100 million years old. Despite their great distance of some 7,000 light years, the two clusters span 1.5-2.0 degrees of sky, so use a low-power eyepiece to take them all in...40mm on my old 14" f/10 scope used to work well.. The view in a telescope is truly breathtaking,. There are many colours in these young stars: sapphire blue, topaz, white, and the red glow of swelling giant stars moving towards their violent end as supernovae. If the Double Cluster were as close as the Pleiades, they would span a quarter of the northern sky. Many of its 600 stars would shine as bright as Vega. Quite a thing! Looking great John. If you ever get chance, try adding 10 or 15 hours of Ha data to it. The cluster is surrounded by nebulosity. Brian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 1 hour ago, Jkulin said: I nearly forgot about this little gem of the night skies, a really lovely double cluster that wasn't too bad to process. Just over 4 hours of data. This was taken with my Altair Astro 26c CMOS camera, Esprit 100 Scope, iOptron 40EC mount, using an OAG with a Lodestar X2 Guide Camera, Pegasus UPB. This was erected outside of my observatory so that I could image other subjects at the same time. I still have a slight issue with my backfocus, which I can work on in the summer nights. More details here: - https://www.astrobin.com/ajw33o/ Here's the bumf: - A great naked eye telescope sight in a wide angle eyepiece, this is the wonderful Double Cluster in Perseus, although it's easier to find by looking down from the left hand side of the W of Cassiopeia. This sparkling pair of clusters are among the youngest known in the galaxy, easily visible without optics in dark sky as a hazy patch 4 degrees west-northwest of eta Persei. The Double Cluster has been known since antiquity as a faint cloud in the northern Milky Way. William Herschel first discovered the nature of this pair, now catalogued as NGC 884 and NGC 869. Each cluster contains some 300 stars, some of which are immensely bright: 50,000x more luminous than our Sun. The clusters probably formed out of the same molecular cloud in the Perseus Arm only 3-5 million years ago, making them among the youngest star clusters known. The Pleiades, by comparison, is more than 100 million years old. Despite their great distance of some 7,000 light years, the two clusters span 1.5-2.0 degrees of sky, so use a low-power eyepiece to take them all in...40mm on my old 14" f/10 scope used to work well.. The view in a telescope is truly breathtaking,. There are many colours in these young stars: sapphire blue, topaz, white, and the red glow of swelling giant stars moving towards their violent end as supernovae. If the Double Cluster were as close as the Pleiades, they would span a quarter of the northern sky. Many of its 600 stars would shine as bright as Vega. Quite a thing! That's gorgeous. I've not long been looking at it with a small refractor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkulin Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 1 hour ago, AstronomyUkraine said: Looking great John. If you ever get chance, try adding 10 or 15 hours of Ha data to it. The cluster is surrounded by nebulosity. Brian I will sometime Brian, but using the OSC presents problems with gathering NB. But that certainly does appeal to me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkulin Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 18 minutes ago, Nightspore said: That's gorgeous. I've not long been looking at it with a small refractor. Thanks appreciate you comment 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoflewis Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 That's really lovely John. It's one of my favourite visual targets with my 22x85 binoculars in a dark sky, so not tonight, even though had them set up to look at the nearly full Moon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoflewis Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 1 hour ago, AstronomyUkraine said: Looking great John. If you ever get chance, try adding 10 or 15 hours of Ha data to it. The cluster is surrounded by nebulosity. Brian I didn't know that Brian, so thanks for the info. I might give that a try sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstronomyUkraine Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 15 minutes ago, geoflewis said: I didn't know that Brian, so thanks for the info. I might give that a try sometime. Neither did I until quite recently. Just shows we can learn something new all the time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkAR Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Lovely image John. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 1 hour ago, Jkulin said: Thanks appreciate you comment You're welcome. It's got to be almost everyone's favourite cluster. Your picture is spectacular. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinS Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Such a tranquil image John, loverly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmack1 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Lovely image John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterBolt Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I love this image. I am hoping to get some clusters over the next couple of months. What length of exposure did you use for the individual subs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkulin Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 6 hours ago, PeterBolt said: I love this image. I am hoping to get some clusters over the next couple of months. What length of exposure did you use for the individual subs? Hi Peter, thanks for the comments, I used my Altair Astro 26C OSC and captured 49 x 300s images, more details here: - https://www.astrobin.com/ajw33o 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterBolt Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Thanks for the link I will take a look 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gina Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Nice!! 👍👍👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Such a pretty cluster. You've done it justice 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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