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Star cluster (stär klŭsˈ-tər) / noun
Star clusters are large groups of stars held together by self-gravitation. Two main types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of ten thousand to millions of old stars that are gravitationally bound, while open clusters are more loosely clustered groups of stars.
Type: Open Star Cluster
Constellation: Taurus
Distance from Earth: 444 light-years
About: The Pleiades are an asterism, or pattern of stars, as well as an open star cluster, made up of more than 1,000 stars. Also known as the “Seven Sisters” and Messier 45, they derive their English name from Greek legend in which the stars represent the daughters of the titan Atlas. Pleiades also translates to the Japanese word Subaru, which is also the name of a popular Japanese automaker. The star cluster was given its designation 45 by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771 and added to his catalog of 110 deep sky objects. This catalog is one of the most used and popular among amateur astronomers.
Imaging Project Information
Image Telescope: Celestron 8″ Rowe-Ackermann Astrograph (Focal Length: 400mm)
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro (Gain 120/Bin 1)
Mount: iOptron CEM60
Accessories: ZWO ASIAir Pro used for target planning and acquisition, ZWO EAF Focuser, ZWO 30mm guide scope with ASI224MC camera for auto-guiding
Software: Preprocessing: Aries Astro Pixel Processor, Postprocessing: Pleiades Astrophoto Pixinsight
Acquisition Period: December 13, 2021 – RGB Stars (95 x 30s / 100 x 60s frames using Optolong L-Pro 2″ filter)
Type: Globular Cluster
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Distance from Earth: 33,920 light-years
About: Considered one of the finest northern globular clusters only behind the Great Hercules Cluster (M13). It was the first of the 110 deep sky objects discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764.
Imaging Project Information
Imaging Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain (Focal Length: 1478mm)
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro (Gain 360/ Bin 3)
Mount: iOptron CEM60
Accessories: ZWO ASIAir Pro used for target planning and acquisition, ZWO EAF Focuser, ZWO Off-Axis Guider with ASI174mm Mini camera for auto-guiding
Software: Preprocessing: Aries Astro Pixel Processor, Postprocessing: Pleiades Astrophoto Pixinsight
Acquisition Period: May 4, 2023- RGB Stars (350 x 10s using ZWO UV-IR Cut 2″ filter)