M35 & NGC 2158 – Open Clusters in Gemini

M35 & NGC 2158 – Open Clusters in Gemini

Telescope: Meade SN6 Comet Tracker at f/3.6, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Full Spectrum Modified Nikon D5300, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Orion 50mm, ZWO ASI120MM mini

Exposure: 13x60sec, ISO 200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/10sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, poor transparency, bright moonlight

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

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Backyard Nikon, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

Through a small telescope M35 is rather delicate and appears as a beautiful patch of stardust that just keeps on getting better as you use larger and larger scopes. NGC 2158 is the much smaller and fainter cluster to the lower right of M35. The apparent smaller size and red color of this cluster is a result of it being much farther away than M35; 16,500 light years for NGC 2158 versus 2,800 light years for M35. NGC 2158 makes a fine companion to M35 is large telescopes.

M35 is currently well placed rising in the northeast as the sky darkens.