Messier M20 - NGC 6514 - Trifid Nebula and Messier M21 - NGC 6531 - Open Cluster 04/10/2010 (Processed JPEG stack) First 'stacked' and guided image of these objects, 5 images stacked using DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 and cropped and colour adjusted by Adobe Photoshop CS5. Taken through the Apogee 80 on the SkyWatcher NEQ6 mount. Guided for 60sec @ISO 400 in-camera JPEG with no in-camera dark and with no light pollution filter or field flattener. Things to note in the processed image are the noticeable reduction in the level of noise in the background from the stacking process compared to the single shot of M20, 9 nights earlier (25/09/2011), even with so few frames. Plenty of hot red and blue pixels due to no dark frame processing. The small amount of cropping has reduced the spherical aberration from the outer edges of the original image. Focused using a Bahtinov Mask. Post processing has accentuated the colour and contrast a little but more exposure is required for finer details in the cloud and dust structure. Telescope - Apogee OrthoStar LOMO 80/480 without Field Flattener or light polution filter, Canon 400D DSLR, Ambient xxC not noted. Mount - Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro. Guidescope - Orion ShortTube 80 with Star Shoot Auto Guider.

Messier M8 - NGC 6530 - Lagoon Nebula & Cluster 04/10/2010 (Processed JPEG Stack) First 'stacked' and guided image of this object, 5 images stacked using DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 and cropped and colour adjusted by Adobe Photoshop CS5. Taken through the Apogee 80 on the SkyWatcher NEQ6 mount. Guided for 60sec @ISO 400 in-camera JPEG with no in-camera dark and with no light pollution filter or field flattener. The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud ~4100 LY away in the constellation Sagittarius. The pink/red glow is caused by ionised Hydrogen gas. The ionisation comes from extremely bright young stars with high Ultraviolet light output. M8 is just visible to the naked eye in dark skies and easily seen in binoculars. It spans 90' x 40' which is ~3 x 1 full moon diameters and at its distance equates to 110 x 50 LY. Imagine the energy required to light that up! Things to note in the processed image are the noticeable reduction in the level of noise in the background from the stacking process compared to the single shot of 9 nights earlier (25/09/2011), even with so few frames. Plenty of hot red and blue pixels due to no dark frame processing. The cropping has avoided the spherical aberration from the outer edges of the original image. Focused using a Bahtinov Mask. Post processing has accentuated the colour and contrast a little but more exposure is required for finer details in the cloud and dust structure. Telescope - Apogee OrthoStar LOMO 80/480 without Field Flattener or light polution filter, Canon 400D DSLR, Ambient xxC not noted. Mount - Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro. Guidescope - Orion ShortTube 80 with Star Shoot Auto Guider.

Messier M16 - NGC 6611 - Eagle Nebula and Cluster 04/10/2010 (Processed JPEG Stack) The Eagle Nebula is an emission nebula contained with a young (1-2 million years) open cluster of ~460 stars that is ~6,500 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Its name derives from its shape that is thought to resemble an eagle. It is the subject of the famous "Pillars of Creation" photograph by the Hubble Space Telescope that shows pillars of star-forming gas and dust within the nebula. First 'stacked' and guided image of this object, 4 best of 5 images stacked using DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 and cropped and colour adjusted by Adobe Photoshop CS5. Taken through the Apogee 80 on the SkyWatcher NEQ6 mount. Guided for 60sec @ISO 400 in-camera JPEG with no in-camera dark and with no light pollution filter or field flattener. Things to note in the processed image are the noticeable reduction in the level of noise in the background from the stacking process compared to the single shot of 9 nights earlier (25/09/2011), even with so few frames. Plenty of hot red and blue pixels due to no dark frame processing. The cropping has avoided the spherical aberration from the outer edges of the original image. Focused using a Bahtinov Mask. Post processing has accentuated the colour and contrast a little but much more exposure is required for this fainter object for definition and finer details in the cloud and dust structure. Telescope - Apogee OrthoStar LOMO 80/480 without Field Flattener or light polution filter, Canon 400D DSLR, Ambient xxC not noted. Mount - Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro. Guidescope - Orion ShortTube 80 with Star Shoot Auto Guider.