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Twinkle Twinkle little star (cluster)
Twinkle Twinkle little star (cluster)
jlanoue


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2008-11 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Location: Bedford, NH
Date: Nov 30, 2008
Aperture: 5.0
ISO: 800
Shutter: b
Galleries: Nature, Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Nov 30, 2008

 The Pleiades star cluster, easily visible this time of year directly above in the northern hemisphere, some people mistake this for the little dipper and thus it's earned the name "the baby dipper". It's also famous for being the star pattern on the subaru logo.

This is a composite stack of 10 5 minute exposures, ISO 800, noise reduction on, anttlers optics 10" newtonian telescope, canon 350d, losmandy g11 mount.

post challenge...Thanks for the comments, and in particular, the lengthy critique from bobonacus
This is a photo of the Pleiades star cluster, also known as m45, the Subaru cluster (this is the logo on every Subaru made), the seven sisters (because a very sharp eye can see 7 blue stars) and even “the baby dipper” (because it gets confused for the little dipper). It’s easily visible to the unaided eye as a cluster of blue stars directly above this time of year. This star cluster is very active with dust between the stars which is illuminated by the bright blue stars in the cluster, and is referred to as a “reflection nebula”. This particular photograph was taken from my backyard observatory on the second to last day of November. I used a 10” Newtonian telescope and canon 350d to take this photo, it is part of a much wider star cluster that is pictured here by Rob Gendler . If you own a pair of binoculars, point them at this star cluster and be prepared for a beautiful site.

Regarding the comment that this was almost “too clear”, this is actually a great confirmation of my efforts the day I took the photograph. I disassembled my telescope, cleaned the mirrors and recollimated the optics then I did a two hour “drift alignment” (to get my telescope in perfect alignment with the north celestial pole), all of which should have contributed to the sharpness of the photo. That night I took 10 5 minute exposures of the Pleiades cluster and color corrected and stacked the resulting images in photoshop to create this image.

Regarding the diffraction spikes on the stars… this is unavoidable on bright stars when you use a Newtonian telescope because of the “spider vane” in the front of the telescope that holds the secondary mirror in place.

Every shot I take gets its share of 1, 2 and 3s, and I’m never sure if this is just because folks don’t care for astrophotography or if they’re confused at what it is they’re looking at, so I always appreciate the feedback, positive or negative, thanks!

jl

Statistics
Place: 213 out of 417
Avg (all users): 5.5759
Avg (commenters): 6.4286
Avg (participants): 5.6000
Avg (non-participants): 5.5208
Views since voting: 1438
Views during voting: 250
Votes: 158
Comments: 12
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 01/03/2009 04:59:32 AM
Originally posted by smudgeSMJ:
Beautiful, but I think a tad shorter of exposure would make it even sharper.


Kellyo, what do you mean you don't know how to rate this picture? Look at it, its very crisp and a gorgeous looking picture. I don't think it matters if you know what a good astro photo is or not. If you like how it looks and its crisp and not annoying to look at then give it a good score. :) keep up the good work jlanoue I am jealous. I wish I could take awesome pictures like this one.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III
 12/15/2008 09:35:09 PM
I didn't get a chance to see this one and must tell you that it's absolutely beautifully executed and your descriptions are very indepth. This should have scored much higher than it did. Keep up the good work!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 12/08/2008 04:32:01 PM
After reading your description, it got me curious.... have you ever had any of your pictures features on APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day)? I have that site as my homepage, and use it for my classes quite often (I am a science teacher).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
 12/08/2008 06:50:49 AM
Wow, so I was way off the mark! You have some great kit there to get a shot like this, I freely admit that it's bizarre I thought something wasn't right as it looked too good to be a real shot!! For what it's worth I still gave you a 5! I've just looked through your profile and you have some great shots there.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D800
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 12/07/2008 07:10:47 PM
I think your photos are always under-appreciated. Your astrophotos are always of the top quality. I am assuming, of course, that you are jlanoue. If you are not, take this as a compliment. 9 from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
 12/05/2008 07:02:59 PM
I have no idea how to rate these. We need a tutorial on what makes a good astro photo!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a6000
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS
 12/05/2008 09:39:55 AM
Beautiful, but I think a tad shorter of exposure would make it even sharper.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IIn
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 12/05/2008 09:30:42 AM
nice star cluster 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
 12/05/2008 05:21:26 AM
Something seems off to me about this, I could be totally wrong but this just looks like a photo of something else and not the night sky ....

eta: You asked for more info so I though the best place was to add to this so I'll try. I looked at this for a good few minutes and as you guessed it doesn't look natural to me, it looks like a photo of a display or something. It has a feel of a promo poster for a new space movie or the ceiling of a planetarium maybe. The star points also make it look \"poster\" like though I guess a filter could easily achieve that.

That was my initial impression anyway, even after studying it and I wanted to leave my first impression. I like looking at photos of space (though not looked at that many) and I guess all the ones I've seen of space and deep space just don't seem as crisp and clear as this, take that as a compliment if this is actually a space photo and you have some great kit! So I guess I'm saying it doesn't quite look real because it's too clear! If it is actually a real space shot then I am way off the mark and I'm sorry! I'll check back after the challenge to see your notes!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
 12/04/2008 12:09:03 PM
Pleiades? Great capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D90
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 12/03/2008 07:31:24 PM
It's hard to vote on a photo like this because you've captured something that's so amazing and difficult to photograph. Great work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 12/02/2008 09:55:59 PM
Nice for an abstract. (not voting yet)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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