M45, The Pleiades.

[RB]

I've just finished processing the data I captured last night, well actually early this morning.
The Pleiades was a beautiful sight to see and conditions were terrific.

This is a 45 min stack of 30 x 90 sec subs at 1600 ISO prime focus on a 5" refractor.
Darks and flats applied.

I've uploaded a larger version (approx 1.4M) here.
M45 The Pleiades Hi res. (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/uploads/M45.jpg)

Thanks for looking.

Cheers.

[mickoking]

:eyepop: Absolutely stunning.

[mick pinner]

that is very nice Andrew, l've always considered M45 a simple but spectacular view. well done.

[iceman]

WOW! :eyepop: Stunning shot, Andrew. Incredible in fact.

Did you use fishing line for the diffraction spikes? They add a nice touch.

Brilliant image and nice to see this cluster again in image! I've been eyeing it off every morning when I get in the car to go to work.

[RB]

Thanks guys,

Mike yes I tried fishing line for the first time last night, I thought it might go well with M45.
I couldn't believe how quickly daylight approached, I haven't had any sleep in two days. :doh:

[h0ughy]

nope don't like it, it is too sharply focused and has those spiky thing s that detract from what would be a mediocre image, some of that furry stuff around that star look fakes to me and the blue seems to be missing. There are introduced artifacts and the tracking, well , seems to have been over corrected.........

























But then I could say I am sitting in the cupboard because this shot is so amazing that I dare not show my face in public until I can at least show some thing that is 10% as good as yours. Simply stunning RB!

[Astroman]

AMAZING love it, cant wait to see the full res one

[Striker]

When I looked at the thumbnail my thoughts were oh no Andrew...what have you done....how my impression quickly changed once I opened the image..truely beautiful image Andrew well done again mate.
Now go to bed...we dont want you getting sick again....lol

[JohnG]

A stunning shot there RB, stunning.

JohnG

[spearo]

Very nice indeed, "sharp and crisp" are the first words that popped into my head as I looked at it, then I noticed the two clouds in there! Very cool,
ill have to add this to my list of targets.

You must have been p late (or early) to get that series of shots!
gotta admire dedication to the Art.

frank

[davidpretorius]

bugga me, that is astounding.

it is definately on my top 5 IIS images!

wow, every now and then, I get gob smacked. This morning it was Damian Peach's re worked 360 degree jupiter animation and then tonight, Crotchety Rockety has repeated the dose!!!

world class!

[acropolite]

Amazing Image Andrew, please upload the full version. The pleades is HRH's favourite object, she has even named trees in the garden after several of the individual stars...

[sheeny]

Beautiful! Exquisite shot, RB!:eyepop: :thumbsup:

Al.

[RB]

Thanks everyone,

I've uploaded a larger version (approx 1.4M) here.
M45 The Pleiades Hi res. (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/uploads/M45.jpg)

[Octane]

Andrew,

That's magnificent!

Those sharp, crisp diffraction spikes... *dribble*

I can't wait for that to be higher in the sky.

Regards,
Humayun
:)

[Dennis]

Wow Andrew - that is a picture postcard perfect image. Well done!

Cheers

Dennis

[tornado33]

Lovely image there, perfectly framed. Sadly I cant reach that far north from my site. Wished I had a portable mount at Kulnurra :)
Scott

[ving]

great shot RB!!!!

lovely and sharp :)

[RB]

I tried bringing out some more of the nebulosity in the M45 image.
Talking with Scott (Tornado33) the other day and he suggested to stretch the histogram a little more.
I was worried I'd start to introduce more noise but here it is with more nebulosity visible.

Some images I've seen around the net have exposures or around 2 hours so I suppose 45 min is a good starting point.
I'll do some more exposures and add to it like Houghy suggested too.

Thanks Scott and Dave for the advice.

Cheers.

[davidpretorius]

had a 3am start, so some guys from the usa could work on my system. the sky was crystal clear and pleiades / orion / sirius were lovely.

This image came instantly to mind!!!

[gbeal]

Very nice shot Andrew, it is that time of the year again?? Already?

[Geoff45]

Am I the only one who thinks that diffraction spikes spoil an otherwise great picture? I thought one of the points of having a refractor was to get rid of them.
Geoff

[tornado33]

Excellent work, the striations in the nebula are striking.
Well done

[Blue Fire]

Gorgeous pic, nice work! The Pleiades has always been one of my favorites - something mystical about it as I gaze at it naked eye, I never tire of pointing it out to my non-astronomical friends just to see if I can get their interest up.

But I've had a question for a long time: Exactly which 7 stars in M45 are the classical 7 sisters? Can anyone specify them for me?

[astroboy]

Nice shot Andrew:thumbsup:
I think the spikes suit this sort of object , looking forward to giving M45 a try myself with the 5" Borg be good to see how it compares to the TOA.

Zane

[Rodstar]

Lovely work Andrew. I would have angled the diffration spikes so that they run up-down, left-right, but of course this is a personal taste issue. Overall, one of those images that warms the cockles of your astro-heart.

[strongmanmike]

I think you have a point Geoff but this is a very nice image non the less. Juuust a little more exposure wouldn't hurt though :-) (wouldn't it always??)

Great work Andrew

Mike

[RB]

G'day Blue Fire,

I found this image which names them.
Thank you for your comments, I agree there's something about The Pleiades which is special.

:thumbsup:

[RB]

You might be right Rod, since this was the only time I've tried this method, I wasn't thinking of the orientation but rather rushing to get as much exposure as possible before sunrise.

I'd like to add that I am not a huge fan of defraction spikes for refractors.
It's fine if you're imaging through a Newtonian but I was taking into consideration the subject matter I was imaging.

To me The Pleiades is something special and they look like diamonds in space.
I wouldn't use this method for all objects but I thought it fitting in this instance.

Thank you all for your comments, they're much appriciated.

[Blue Fire]

Many thanks! After looking at your image/map, I've realized that the two stars on the right are the mythological parents of the other seven. Interesting that the cluster is named for the 7 sisters and yet at least 2 of the stars least visible even with binocs are 2 of the sisters while Atlas, one of the parents is more prominent in the cluster. So, with naked eye viewing (for those folks with exceptional eyesight) at least one of the stars you notice is not really a sister at all but one of the parents. Hmmm... now I have a little more trivia ammo, so to speak, to hit my friends with. Thanks again! :thumbsup: