Pleiades Star Cluster

18. Jan. 2025

Gear used

• Telescope: ASKAR 103APO with 0.8x reducer
• Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC pro
• Guidescope: Uniguide 32
• Guidecamera: ZWO ASI220MM Mini
• Mount: ZWO AM5N
• Controls: ASIAIR Plus

Data collected

• Sky: Bortle 4 to 5
• Lights: 79 x 180s
• Biases: 30
• Darks: 20
• Flats: 30

An Easy First Light Target

This image of the Pleiades star cluster was the result of a short first test session with the ASKAR 103APO and AM5N, which I received at the same time. It’s a shame I couldn’t gather more data during this initial session, but considering the bad weather that often follows new gear purchases in this hobby, I still count myself lucky.

Since I chose a relatively bright target, the signal I captured was actually quite good. Wanting to get the most out of it, I also downloaded a Graxpert beta version from GitHub, which, for the first time, includes deconvolution capabilities. Paired with Graxpert's excellent denoising, this allowed me to reveal many beautiful details in the final image.