Pascal Hilkens Astro Page

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Globular Cluster Messier M69

Globular Cluster Messier M69 is located in constellation Sagittarius and is about 29000 light years away from Earth.

Picture taken with Nikon D7500 and TLAPO80/480 f/6. Setting ISO800 and 11x30s exposure time. Raw data converted to DNG files and stacking using DeepSkyStacker. Editing using CS4 and DeNoise AI.

Open starcluster Messier M7, Ptolemy Cluster, is located in constellation scorpius and is about 980 light years away from Earth. The cluster has been known already since 130AD and observed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.

The open starcluster is the most southern Messier Object with an altitude op 3,5° above the southern horizon. So it's a real challenge to find it. It can only be seen with a perfect view on the southern horizon.

Picture taken with Nikon D7500 and TLAPO80/480 f/6. Setting ISO640 and 16x30s exposure time. Raw data converted to DNG and stacking using DeepSkyStacker. Editing using CS4 and DeNoise AI.

Butterfly Cluster Messier M6

Open starcluster Messier M6 or Butterfly Cluster is located in constellation scorpius and about 1590 light years away from Earth. The cluster is moving around our own galaxy every 200 million years.

The picture is taken withn Nikon D7500 and TLAPO80/480 f/6. Setting ISO320 and 26x30s exposure time. Raw data was converted to DNG and stacking with DeepSkyStacker. Editing using CS4 and DeNoise AI.

At the moment of making the pictures, M6 was only 5° above the southern-eastern horizon.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Lagoon Nebula Messier M8

Picture of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier M8) with Nikon D7500 and TLAPO80/480 f/6. Setting ISO1250 and 55x30s exposure time. Stacking using DeepSkyStacker after converting from RAW to DNG format. Editing using CS4 and DeNoise AI.

Omega or Swan Nebula M17

The Omega or Swan Nebula (Messier M17) taken with Nikon D7500 and TLAPO80/480 f/6. Setting ISO1250 and 34x30s exposure time. Raw pictures converted to DNG and stacked using DeepSkyStacker. Picture cropped and editing using CS4 and DeNoise AI.