Clusters & Stars

Messier 39

Messier 39, an open star cluster in Cygnus about 1,060 light-years away, photographed by Pete Lawrence.

Target details

Messier 39 (NGC 7092) is an open star cluster in Cygnus, discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It lies about 1,060 light-years away and is estimated to be around 278 million years old.

Capture details

Data captured 11th & 15th November, 2018.
15x 2 minute exposures with Blue filter (Binned 2x2).
18x 2 minute exposures with Green filter (Binned 2x2).
15x 2 minute exposures with Red filter (Binned 2x2).
59x 3 minute exposures with Luminance filter.

Total Exposure = 4.5 hours.

Equipment details

Skywatcher Quattro 200 CF
NEQ6 Pro
Atik 428EX Mono
Skywatcher ST-80
QHY5L-II

Processing details

This image was processed in Pixinsight & Lightroom.
Calibration and Stacking in Pixinsight using Batch PreProcessing
Automatic Background Extraction - To remove gradients. (Each Channel separately)
Channel Combination - To combine RGB channels.
Photometric Colour Calibration - To calibrate colours.
SCNR - To remove green cast.
Deconvolution - To tighten stars, 50 iterations. (Luminance Only)
Multiscale Linear Transform - To noise reduce the Luminance only.
LRGB Combination - To blend my luminance image with my RGB image.
Histogram Transformation - To stretch the LRGB image.
Curves Transformation - To boost contrast.

Export as JPEG and import into Lightroom.

Increase Contrast (+10)
Increase Blue Saturation (+100)
Increase Aqua Saturation (+100)
Decrease Red Saturation (-100)

Export final JPEG for upload.

Messier 39: astrophotograph by Pete Lawrence