M45 quickly (Blue Mountains)

Imaged captured quickly last night with teeth clacking and body shivering. Very quick stacking and processing. I shot the Seven Sisters for Rhonda.

Tele Vue NP 101 refractor, Losmandy GM-8 with Gemini mount on pier, FeatherTouch electronic focuser, StarryNight, FocusLynx Commander. Guided through a Tele Vue 70 Ranger with Orion SSAG and PHD2. Canon 40D, Backyard EOS. 5x150sec, ISO 1600, daylight white balance. Dark frames applied. Canon DPP, Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop. North is bottom-left; east is bottom-right.

Happy with this result although I need to do more work in post-processing.

Thanks, Phil!

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I consider something of a milestone where I used someone else’s imaging rig but sorted hardware and software issues and obtained a decent result.

Also, my first time using auto-guiding.

Pleased with focus.

Very happy to see nebulosity around the stars: IC 349 aka Barnard's Merope Nebula or aka vdB 22, the wispy tenuous clouds surrounding Merope star; IC 1990, aka vdB 20 and Ced 19, the wispy Reflection nebula surrounding 17 Tauri; Ced 19h, nebula surrounding Asterope; vdb 23 aka Ced 19l diffuse reflection nebula around Alcyone; and Ced 19o, Dim wispies surrounding Atlas and Pleione.

Also identified over 25 doubles and multi-star systems: 16 Tauri aka Celaeno and HL 6; 17 Tau aka Electra and HL 7; 18 aka HL 8; 19 Tau aka Taygeta or HJ 3251; 20 Tau aka Maia or HL 11; 21 Tau aka Asterope or HL 12; 21 and 22; 22 Tau aka Sterope II or HL 14; 23 Tau aka Merope or HL 15; 27 Tau aka Atlas and HL 29; 27 and 28; 28 Tau aka Pleione and HL 28; HD 23049 aka HL 13; HD 23075 aka Struve 435; HD 23361 aka HL 10; HD 23479 aka BU 536; HD 23489 aka CHR 12 or HL 16; HD 23568 aka CHR 124 or HL 17; HD 23609 aka HL 19; HD 23628 aka HL 20; HD 23631 aka HL 21 and Σ450; HD 23642 aka HL 22; HD 23822 aka HL 27; HD 23873 aka STT A 40; HD 23948 aka HL 33; and POU 309.