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M45 The Pleiades star cluster in Taurus
With the introduction of BlurXterminator for PixInsight I’ve been reprocessing a lot of data. This image is one of them. It’s of the Pleiades, Seven Sisters (M45) star cluster. See my other post for more detailed information about BlurXterminator.
The Seven Sisters, M45, is approximately 444 light years from Earth. Located in the north-west part of the constellation Taurus. This bright nebula, also known as the Pleiades cluster, appears to have many bright blue stars inside of it. The stars are traveling through space and passing through a dust cloud in the interstellar medium. The light from the bright blue stars reflects off of the dust, giving us the appearance of a nebulosity surrounding their positions.
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A popular processing technique known as “deconvolution”, can be used to reduce the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the image. This can help to bring out more detail in the image, as it reduces the blurring caused by the Earth’s atmosphere. This is what BlueXterminator does.
BlurXterminator is an AI (artificial intelligence) based tool for PixInsight. It can remove the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the image and bring out more detail. It is easy to use, and it can produce impressive results with just a few clicks. Of course you still need to be proficient with image processing and a software program like PixInsight. As well as be able to acquire good quality data in order to realize the best possible end result for the image.
M45 is sometimes mistaken by observers as the Little Dipper due to its star formation appearance.
This image is a total of 5 hours using the Esprit 100 triplet refractor, QHY268C cooled cmos camera and Optolong L-pro filter.
Image Technical:
- Skywatcher Esprit 100 triplet refractor F5.5 (550mm FL) http://bit.ly/36w1F7Y
- QHY268C cooled cmos camera (26mp, 3.76um) https://bit.ly/37OeYS5
- Optolong L-pro light pollution filter http://bit.ly/32a9Gfu
- Skywatcher EQ6 mount / Skyshed Pier
- NINA for acquistion. PHD2 for autoguiding
- 60 x 5min exposures – 5 hours total data.
- Imaged from my backyard in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- Processed in Pixinsight
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New to Pixinsight image processing? Get in touch! I provide one-on-one lessons via Zoom.
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My story began more than 40 years ago looking up at the Moon with a small collapsible telescope my Father had. Encouraged by my parents, who bought me my very own telescope, a 4.5″ reflector, I began to explore the night sky from my family home backyard. Today I do astrophotography from my home in Kitchener, Ontario and also with remote telescopes located in New Mexico and Australia. Some of my images have won awards and have been featured online and in magazines.
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