Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 26x60sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

NGC7789 is a large and wonderfully rich open cluster located just west of Cassiopeia. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1782 and is sometimes called Caroline’s Rose. It is a delicate object in small to moderate scopes, but blossoms into a rich field in large telescopes. When viewing this cluster I like to spend some time with the field. At first all I will see are the foreground stars and perhaps a soft glow in the background. As my eye adjusts, the first faint stars appear, and then it slowly blooms into a beautiful patch of stardust.

This is the last of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. Caroline’s Rose is currently low in the northeast at sunset and is high overhead after midnight. (Photo credit: John Graham, 7/14/2023)

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 11x120sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, fair transparency, haze, smoke

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.7 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M27, the Dumbbell nebula, is an expanding shell of gas that was ejected from a sun-like star as it exhausted its hydrogen fuel. Swollen into a red giant, the star shed its outer shell while its core collapsed into a white dwarf. Fierce UV radiation from the collapsed core sets the surrounds gas aglow with the blue/green light of doubly ionized oxygen. The diameter of the nebula is about 1 light-year with an estimated age of 9,800 years. Located between Sagitta and Cygnus, M27 is fairly easy to find with a small telescope. Visually, it shows two lobes connected by a neck of nebulosity, giving the nebula its characteristic dumbbell shape.

This is the third of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. M27 is currently high in the east as the sky darkens. (Photo credit; John Graham, 7/14/2023)

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 50x30sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency, haze, smoke

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M22 is a large, bright, class 7 globular cluster in Sagittarius. With an estimated distance of 10,600 light years it is one of the closer globulars in our galaxy. In many ways M22 should outshine M13, but it can get a bit lost among the stars along the Milky Way near the Sagittarius star clouds and its light is dimmed by dust along the galactic plane. Still, it is large, bright, and easily resolves into this beautiful glow of stardust even in a modest telescope. In a large telescope it blossoms into a glorious sight. This is one of the gems of the summer sky in the northern hemisphere.

This is the second of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. M22 is currently rising in the southeast as the sky darkens. (Photo credit; John Graham, 7/14/2023)

Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR

Filter: 2” ZWO IR Cut Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD

Exposure: 16x45sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)

Flats: 32×1/10s sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency, haze, smoke

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.3 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

M92 is the ‘other’ globular cluster in Hercules. M92 lies to the northeast of the popular M13 globular cluster in a relatively lonely patch of sky making it a bit harder to locate, but well worth the effort. Interestingly, M92 is listed as being fainter than M13 (Mv 6.4 for M92 vs. 5.8 for M13), but I find the core of M92 to be a tad brighter than M13. This is likely the result the apparent size of M13 being larger than M92 giving M13 a higher total integrated brightness.

This is the first of 5 test images taken with my Unitron 510. The field showed a surprising amount of vignetting, so this image was cropped square to fit within the region that could be corrected with flats. This issue was later traced to a baffle in the draw tube. When this was removed the telescope easily covered the entire full frame.

M92 is currently placed very high in the northeast as the sky darkens. (Photo credit; John Graham, 7/14/2023)

Telescope: Meade SN10 at f/4, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: QHY 268c, Mode 0, Gain 30, Offset 30, 0C

Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 33x180sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32×180 sec

Flats: 64×0.1 sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, poor transparency, low ltitude

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.2 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

M80 is a bright, condensed globular cluster in Scorpius. Containing several hundred thousand stars, it is one of the most densely populated globulars. It is approximately 95 light years across, and 32,600 light years away, about four time farther away than nearby M4.

M80 is currently low in the southeast as the sky darkens.