Telescope: LXD75 SC8 @ f/6.3, LX65 mount, altaz mode
Camera: Baader modified Canon 600Da, interval timer
Filter: GSO IR Blocking Filter
Guide scope: None
Exposure: 30x10sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW
Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)
Flats: 32×1/25sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk
Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, moonlight
Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.1
Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop
M103 is one of several open clusters in Cassiopeia. It is small, rather sparse, and was once thought to be an asterism rather than a true cluster, but it has since been shown to be a distant open cluster. Located just 1.5 degrees northeast of delta Cassiopeia it is easy to find and makes a nice target for small telescopes.
This is one of a series of images that I have been taking to explore using relatively simple equipment and techniques. The region of the sky near the celestial pole can get a bit interesting with an altaz mount with sizable movement in both axis and a considerable amount of field rotation, but the overall results are very similar to what I have been getting with less challenging areas of the sky.
M103 is currently well placed in the northeast at sunset.
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