M45, the Pleiades, again (November 29, 2013)

 Full resolution image here.

I seem to shoot this cluster every year.  It's not an obsession, though it would be easy to become obsessed with such a wonderful cluster.  You should have seen it last night in the SV80ED and the 35mm Ultrascopic eyepiece!  Wow!  I've never shot the cluster with this scope, though, for what it's worth.  This image is shrunk about 25% from original.

Telescope: Astro-Tech AT65EDQ and TeleVue NPR-1073 (eff. at f/5.2)
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9C (18x480"), Alnitak Flat-man flats
Filter: IDAS LPS-P2
Guiding: Meade DSI Pro and Hutech 50mm
Mount: Takahashi EM-10
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3, Carboni Actions
Location: The Woodlands, TX  

Merope, AT111EDT First Light (Sept. 20, 2012)

Link to full resolution image.

Here is a closeup on Merope, one of the Pleiades (also known as Subaru or Seven Sisters, or M45).  The Pleiades are passing through a cloud of dust.  Reflected starlight from the group shines on the dust in blue.  Because the cluster of stars is only about 390-440 light years distant, it appears as a cluster to anyone looking up in a dark sky at the constellation Taurus.

This is first light with an AT111EDT.  I am the second owner, but the scope was well cared-for.  I am excited to fit this scope out for convenient imaging as a replacement for the 6" Newtonian.

Telescope: Astro-Tech AT111EDT (and William Optics 0.8x II fr/ff (eff. at f/5.6))
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9C (35x240"), Alnitak Flat-man flats
Filter: Hutech IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Meade DSI Pro & Hutech 50mm
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M45, Pleiades, (Six of) Seven Sisters, Subaru (Nov. 27 & 28, 2011)

This cluster is about 440 light years away in the constellation Taurus.  You can see at least six (some see more) of the stars with your eyes, without optical aid.  It's a cluster I always look for when I go out.  What the eyes do not show is the nebulosity.  The young cluster is passing through a cloud of gas and dust, and the light from the bright, blue-white stars is reflected back toward us.

Thanks to Dick Locke for processing suggestions.  Here is another rendition of the same data:

Telescope: Stellarvue SV80ED NHNG f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 69x10'
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Alcyone Nebula, in the Pleiades (M45) (10-17-09)

If folks can't fit the whole of the Pleiades in their view, generally they shoot Merope, which lights up filaments of gas around it. A part of the Merope Nebula may be seen at bottom left. This, on the other hand, is the Alcyone Nebula, which lights up just northeast of Merope.

Imaging Scope: Orion 80ED & WO 0.8x II (f/6)
Imager: Atik 16
Exposure: 23x5'
Filter: Meade Blue CCD Filter
Capture Software: Nebulosity 2
Mount: Takahashi EM-10
Guiding Camera: DSI Pro
Guiding Software: PHD
Guiding Scope: Hybrid 60mm f/5
Date: Night of 10-14-09
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Processed with Nebulosity 2 & Photoshop Elements 7 with Carboni actions