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: 17x60sec, 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: 18.0 mag/arc-sec^2
Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard Nikon, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop
M36 is one of three relatively bright open clusters in Auriga, nestled in between M37 to the east and M38 to the west. M36 is the smallest of the three and is a tad sparse, but it does very well in small telescopes and is one of my favorite stops with my little ETX-60. If you look closely you will see a little puff of nebula on the right edge of this field; a beautiful, small, red emission nebula, NGC 1931.
M36 is currently well placed high in the northeast during the early evening.
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