Gabriela Mistral Nebula and Gem Cluster

[Retrograde (Pete)]

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

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

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

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

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

Mike

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

A vibrant and compelling rendition Pete! Nice one!

[AstroJason (Jason)]

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.

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Originally Posted by 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

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

Mike

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

Originally Posted by marc4darkskies

A vibrant and compelling rendition Pete! Nice one!

Thanks Marcus, appreciate your comment!

Originally Posted by 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.

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 )

[Dave882 (David)]

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

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Originally Posted by Dave882

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

Thanks Dave!