M7 Ptolemy Cluster (& a cast of billions)

[Dave882]

This is an incredibly busy region in Scorpius, and to be honest I'm not sure which is more interesting: the actual open cluster M7, the zillions of stars that create an incredible backdrop, or some intriguing dusty tendrils snaking through the view. I had a hard time deciding how to present all that together but hopefully have struck a pleasing balance!

Comments, critique welcome. Once again the IIS version doesn't do it any justice so the link is highly recommended.

Zoomable high res version... (https://storage.googleapis.com/dso-browser.com/astrophotography/picture-43b661358fe609e8179be340ce118f92-original.jpg)

120x60sec, Bin1, Gain0
C14 Hyperstar f1.9
Eq8 pro
ASI2600mc (no filter - no moon)
Guiding with guide scope & asi290mm
ASIAIR pro
APP & PI

Thanks for dropping by!

[TrevorW]

Amazing just what can be captured in 2hrs of data but that F ration helps :)

[Startrek]

Dave,
Again a delightful image of a wonderful cluster which is rarely posted
Well done !!

After I built my new 8” Carbon newt back in May I used M7 as a test object for focus , collimation and diffraction spikes etc..
Little did I realise how beautiful and amazing this part of the sky is being immersed in a zillion stars

My Astrobin link ….,

https://www.astrobin.com/aihe3n/

I’m definitely going to image it again
I used 30 sec subs on Gain 100
About 30 mins of data
Cheers
Martin

[Tinderboxsky]

Fabulous result, David. Great star colours and the cluster pops out from the background stars and dark lanes.

[petershah]

beautiful

[strongmanmike]

Holy Ptolemy Batman! :eyepop: look at all them staaars :eyepop:

Lovely

Mike

[Dave882]

Thanks guys I appreciate your kind words! I’m definitely not not gunna be able to challenge you frac & newt experts but hey I’m having fun!! There’s so many random stellar views around Sagittarius at this kind of fl.

Martin I forgot about that beautiful shot of yours…made me do a repro cause I realised I lost all the blue in some of those stars :P even though my histogram was looking ok I might actually drop the exposure to 30sec. Although I didn’t do a comparison, I suspect 0-gain may be an advantage for the higher dynamic range (at least with my setup) otherwise I’ll end up with hundreds of subs