An open star cluster in Canis Major, visible to the naked eye.
Imaged at a field session with Macarthur Astronomical Society
Object Details:
M41, NGC 2287
Constellation: Canis Major
Visual magnitude: +4.5
Apparent size: 39′
Diameter: 26 light years.
Distance: 2,300 light years.
Altitude: 56° above Eastern horizon.
Image:
Exposure: 27×30 sec minutes (13.5 min). Re-stacked (3 omitted frames).
Gain 231
Date: 2019-01-04 commencing approx 10.15 pm
Location: The Oaks, NSW.
Conditions: Mostly clear.
Sky: semi-dark rural..
Moon: no
Processing:
Image acquisition software: SharpCap.
Image post-processing: Deep Sky Stacker and GIMP
Cropping: no.
Geek Log:
[ZWO ASI071MC Pro]
Output Format=PNG files (*.png)
Binning=1
Capture Area=4944×3284
Colour Space=RGB24
Hardware Binning=Off
Turbo USB=80(Auto)
Flip=None
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=231
Exposure=30
Timestamp Frames=Off
White Bal (B)=54(Auto)
White Bal (R)=61(Auto)
Brightness=72
Temperature=23.2
Cooler Power=100
Target Temperature=-15
Cooler=On
Auto Exp Max Gain=300
Auto Exp Max Exp M S=30000
Auto Exp Target Brightness=100
Mono Bin=Off
Anti Dew Heater=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
#Black Point
Display Black Point=0
#MidTone Point
Display MidTone Point=0.5
#White Point
Display White Point=1
TimeStamp=2019-01-04T11:42:02.7791835Z
SharpCapVersion=3.2.5892.0
TotalExposure(s)=900
StackedFrames=30
Gear:
Imaging telescope: Skywatcher Esprit 120ED Super APO triplet refractor.
Focal length: 840 mm, focal ratio: f/7.
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI 071 MC Pro
Guiding: no.
Telescope mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro.
Polar aligning method: QHYCCD PoleMaster.
Polar alignment error: not measured but <10′.
Field flattener: yes; filter: no.
Related:
Image © R.Powell
Cosmic Focus 