Christmas can be a great time of year, especially with young kids, the excitement of Santa, warm weather, and time off work. But lots of preparations, gatherings with extended family, mess, day trips, and good food & wine can be draining after a while ... too much of a good thing. After all day ABBA songs ("SingStar" wars on the PS2) and keeping ahead of the kids in the Rock Legend stakes on "Guitar Hero", some time late nights under the stars with the family dog have been heavenly indeed.
The week straddling Christmas served nice warm weather and clear skies down in Melbourne (albeit with a bright moon), so it was great to get some welcome SPACE .... taking time out to capture and process some deep sky pics for the first time in a while.
I took the following shots with my humble 450D/ED80 setup from the Melbourne burbs. Modest results compared to some of the fantastic work posted on this forum, but enjoyable none the less.
Comments or tips welcome.
1. Rosette, 100min (40x2,5) with darks & flats, Dec 26
2. Eta Carina, 95min (38 x 2.5) with darks & flats, Dec 28
3. Tarantula, 145min (58 x 2.5) with darks & flats, Dec 28
4. Tarantula...with 2xBarlow, 75min (15 x 5) with darks but no flats, Dec 29
Happy New Year to all.