Details

• Rig: QHY268C + Sky-Watcher AzGTi + Askar FMA180 (unguided)
• Software: NINA/PixInsight
• Filters: Astronomik L3
• Constellation: Monoceros

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 139 X 60s (139m)
    * Total: 2h19m

Seeing index: OK (3)
Jet stream: Good (7 m/s)
Transparency: Good (4)

Notes

This evening was more of a test than anything, in preparation for the dark sky trip night week. I reassembled the Askar rig now that the faulty focusser has been replaced and used the L3 filter for the first time. From the incoming subs it certainly looked like the stars were tighter and less bloated. I chose short subs (60s) as the light pollution on long subs appeared to be pronounced in the stretched verions showm in NINA. The processing time will be extended significantly of course.

Having processed the image a few things are striking: the HUGE number of stars when we are not looking at the centre of the Milky Way but rather its outer fringe; the dark lane zigzaging from the north-west to the cluster itself in the middle of the frame; the large cluster of very yellow stars between the cluster and Dreyer’s Nebula IC2169; the comet-shaped Hubble’s Variable Nebula to the south-south-east of the cluster.

I think the L3 filter has handled the blue stars extremely well as no discernable bloating of blue stars is evident. Striking, too, is how well the new PixInsight Gradient Correction tool removed the light pollution gradient.

The view of this image is approximately 5° x 5°.