M23 in Sagittarius

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Scope: Zenithstar 66 mm APO  at f/4.6, Location: Laguna Mountains, CA   2 July 2011 (Lum) and Dos Picos Park, Ramona, CA 7 July 2011 (RGB)  Camera: Artemis285

Exposure: 9 x 3.5 min  (1x1 bin) exposure with UV/IR block, 8 x 2 min (2x2 bin) RGB exposures.

Processing: Images were captured  with Artemis Capture (as FITs).  Aligned/stacked and dark subtracted in Astroart with Sigma Combine.   IR / UV Blocking  filter  and Color channels were scaled and  color balanced in Astroart.  Channels were co-registered in Astroart.   Central gradient removal was performed in Astroart. Luminance channel consisted of the IR/UV blocking filter exposures.  Curves and Levels applied in Photoshop to the Luminance channel to optimize star depth.   Final LRGB combine was done in Photoshop.    Final Image size is approximately 1800 x 1350.

North is up in this image. The star cluster M23 is located in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is in a dens star and dust field in the Milky Way.   This is one of  four Messier open clusters in Cassiopeia (along with M18, M21, and M25).  M23's member star count ranges from 129 to 149 stars. M23's distance to Earth is about 2,150 light years.  This image replaces and earlier image of the object posted here. Horizontal FOV is 100'

Image center is approximately - Equatorial 2000: RA: 17h 56m 48s Dec: -19°01'00"

All images and content remain the property of Jim Thommes - copyright 2003 - 2012

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