M45 - Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster.

…lies about 444 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars visible, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight.

Tech card:

Imaging telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm ED TRIPLET APO.

Imaging camera: ZWO ASI294MM-Pro.

Mount: iOptron CEM60.

Guiding camera: ZWO ASI290MM mini.

Focal reducer: Explore Scientific 0.7 Reducer/Flattener.

Accessory: ZWO OAG · ZWO EAF Electronic Auto Focuser · ZWO ASIAIR Pro · ZWO 8x 1.25" Filter Wheel (EFW).

Frames: Astrodon Gen 2 LRGB E Series: 80x120" (2h 40' ) (gain: 120.00) -20C bin 1x1.

Integration: 2h 40'

Darks: 50.

Flats: 30.

Flat darks: 30.

Avg. Moon age: 3.55 days.

Avg. Moon phase: 13.62%

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 4.00.

RA center: 03h46m41s.

DEC center: +24°09′32″

Pixel scale: 0.706 arcsec/pixel.

Orientation: 91.368 degrees.

Field radius: 0.943 degrees.

Re-process of my data of Feb. 15, 2021.

Imaging location: Abu Dhabi desert, UAE.

Copyright:Wissam Ayoub

Image Description and Details :

Visible to the naked eye, the Seven Sisters, or the Pleiades, is one of the best known open clusters. The blue reflection nebula around it is a popular target for imagers. Very deep images, like this one, show the surrounding faint clouds and tendrils of dust as well as some red H(II) emission regions.Acquisition, focusing, and control of Paramount MX mount (unguided) with TheSkyX. Focus with Optec DirectSync motor and controller. Automation with CCDCommander. Equipment control with PrimaLuce Labs Eagle 3 Pro computer. All pre-processing and processing in PixInsight. Acquired from my SkyShed in Guelph. Average transparency and average seeing. Data acquired December 6, 2020 – February 9, 2020 under a moonless sky.Takahashi FSQ-106 ED IV @ f/5 and QHY367C Pro one-shot colour camera with Optolong UV/IR filter.123 x 5mTotal: 10hr15m Image scale 1.9 arcsec per pixel.

Copyright: Ron Brecher