Gabriela Mistral Nebula and Gem Cluster

[Retrograde]

Hi all,

I managed to get in a few nights imaging with all the clear nights we've had recently. This was taken over 3 nights during the last new moon period and is presented here in HOO with RGB stars.
All up I managed a little over 5 hours of usable exposures for the narrowband and 30 mins for the RGB stars. I think I prefer red for Ha rather than the yellowish/orange pallete that is often used.

An equipment change (using the AT65ED as a guidescope with a Zwo 120mc as guide-camera) with a few tweaks seem to have improved guiding, but ultimately the plan is to move to off-axis guiding.
Sydney's Bortle 7 skies aren't ideal (especially after a visit to Wiruna) but you have to make the most of what you've got. ;)

Telescope: Skywatcher 190mm Mak-Newt
Mount: AZ-EQ6 GT
Camera: ZWO ASI2600mc
Filter: Antlia ALP-T (dual-band) for nebulosity; unfiltered for stars.

A link to a high-res version is here: Astrobin Gabriela Mistral/Gem Cluster (https://www.astrobin.com/full/1ob5z5/C/)

Hope you like it. Comments/critiques always welcome :),
Pete

[strongmanmike]

It's good to have the feeling that the cruddy cloudy skies we have had over the last couple'a years might be passing :prey:

That looks great Pete, hey its a well imaged field but you have managed to make it look different, I like the composition too, nice.

Gabby is so intriguing and unique looking as a feature, it's hard to take a bad image of it really, like Omega Cen :) :thumbsup:

Mike

[marc4darkskies]

A vibrant and compelling rendition Pete! Nice one!

[AstroJason]

Yeah we have had a great run of good weather lately. Hopefully many more to come! Really nice capture Pete, love the resolution you got on those "cosmic cliffs". I really like the colour you got with the dual band filter too. :thumbsup:

[Retrograde]

Thanks Mike. This is actually my first image of Gabby (except as part of a wide-field Eta image).




Thanks Marcus, appreciate your comment!




Thanks Jason, cheers!
I tried Siril's photometric colour correction on the RGB stars (but then I brightened them a bit to match with the rest of the image so probably ruined it :D)

[Dave882]

That’s real nice mate! Really nice contrast and colour throughout. I love those ropey strands

[Retrograde]

Thanks Dave! :)