Globular Cluster Caldwell 79 NGC 3201 - Adam Lundie - Eatons Hill Observatory

Globular Cluster Caldwell 79 / NGC 3201

06-Mar-2016
Globular Cluster Caldwell 79 / NGC 3201 thumbnail
Globular Cluster Caldwell 79 / NGC 3201
It's been cloudy. Very cloudy. I managed to get a short imaging session, so I had to choose a bright target. The globular cluster Caldwell 79 was in the right place at the right time. It is located at a distance of 16,300 light years from the Sun and has an estimated 254,000 times the mass of the Sun. This cluster is about 10.24 billion years old.

Image:

  • 25x 60s Red bin2x2 + 10 flat + 40x dark + 120x bias
  • 14x 60s Green bin2x2 + 10 flat + 40x dark + 120x bias
  • 36x 60s Blue bin2x2 + 10 flat + 40x dark + 120x bias

Total integration 1 hour 15 minutes.

Hardware:

  • Celestron EdgeHD 1100
  • SkyWatcher EQ8 Pro Mount
  • Celestron 0.7x EdgeHD focal reducer
  • QSI 683-wsg Camera @ -15°C
  • Astronomik Typ 2c RGB filters
  • Orion StarShoot Autoguider
  • Innovations Foresight On Axis Guider
  • Starlight Xpress Adaptive Optics

Location:

  • Orange zone in Brisbane, Australia. (Bortle 7)
  • Average seeing + last quarter moon phase.

Software:

  • Planning & camera alignment with Aladin 9
  • Captured with AstroArt 6
  • Guiding with PHD2 + PHD_Dither
  • CCDInspector: Image analysis & rejection
  • CCDStack 2+: Calibrate, align, stack, remove gradient, combine RGB & create luminance, deconvolution.
  • Photoshop CC: Noise reduction, combine L+RGB, curves, saturation, unsharp, shadows/highlights

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