Observation by Martin Butcher: M36 - Pinwheel Cluster

Uploaded by

Stuart Morris

Observer

Martin Butcher

Observed

2010 Nov 15 - 00:13

Uploaded

2021 Apr 05 - 15:35

Objects

M36

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Constellation

Auriga

Field centre

RA: 05^h36^m
Dec: +34°09'
Position angle: +20°54'

Field size

0°56' × 0°36'

Equipment

Meade LX-90 8" telescope fitted to its field tripod by an equatorial wedge.
LX-90 Periodic Error Correction enabled.
Dew Removal straps fitted to telescope and camera lens
Telescope and camera powered by Mains Power.
Stock Canon 40D with 200mm f/2.8 lens stopped down to f/4
Telescope driven but unguided

Exposure

Eleven sub-exposures each 60 seconds taken at ISO1600

Location

Isle of Colonsay

Target name

M36 - open cluster of stars

Title

M36 - Pinwheel Cluster

About this image

M36 is also known as NGC 1960, or Pinwheel Cluster. It is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Auriga.

Equipment used:- Stock Canon 40D mounted at Prime Focus on Meade LX-90 8” telescope (focal ratio f/10 focal length 2,000mm) with a 0.63x Focal Reducer (giving an effective focal ratio of f/6.3 and focal length of 1,279mm) fitted to its field tripod by an equatorial wedge. Telescope Polar Aligned. Dew Removal straps fitted to telescope and operating. Telescope driven but unguided. Telescope and camera powered by Mains Power.

Exposure details:- Eleven sub-exposures each 60 seconds taken at ISO1600. Ambient temperature minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Processing details:- After quality control 9 sub-exposures calibrated with Dark, Flat-field and Bias Master frames before being combined in Images Plus. Image then further processed in Photoshop CS3 and Noise Ninja. North is at the top. Image cropped to give field of view of 45 arc minutes x 30 arc minutes.

Narrative description:- Nine days after New Moon, the Moon had set before imaging commencing. The weather was cold, clear and calm with light dew that turned to a thin film of ice.

Files associated with this observation

MButcherNGC1960 or M36.jpg (115.2 kB)

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