I think what is happening h0ughy is that the noise is so low due to the fridge being at -12C that the really faint stuff that is usually hiding under the noise now is quite clear. That includes very dim stars that usually don't show up and get lost in the background. The HDR process shows the full intensity range from noise to the brightest star convoluted to correspond with the logarithmic sensitivity of human vision.
See this thread for a single frame at -10C and 1600ISO. Spot the noise if you can.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=29434
Below is a high quality jpg crop from that single one minute frame at an ISO of 1600.
Bert