CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE VIEW (2400 x 1800)
Scope: WO Zenithstar 66 mm at f/4.8, Blair Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, CA, 26 November 2011, Camera: ST8300M
Exposure: 18 x 8 minutes (1x1 bin) UV/IR Block , 8 x 4 minutes RGB Exposures (2x2 bin)
Processing: Images were captured with CCDSoft. Aligned/stacked and dark subtracted in Astroart ; Sigma Combine method was used for stacking subs. All channels were scaled and rough color balanced in Astroart. Central Gradient removal was done in Astroart. Channels were co-registered in Astroart. The 8 minute 1x1 UV/IR Block exposures were used for the main luminance construction. Level adjustments and curves were used to bring out object features. LRGB combine was done in Photoshop. Selective Color adjustment performed on Neutrals. A light background noise reduction was applied to the LRGB image. Final touches and color balance in Photoshop. Final Image size is approximately 3252x2532 (cropped and resized to 2400x1800).
North is up in this image. This images shows a dark nebula complex across the image field. The dark nebula from left to right across the complex are LDN 1535, LDN 1531 / Barnard 18, LDN 1529, LDN 1524. The dark puff to the left above the main complex is LDN 1533. This field is located in the constellation of Taurus. The Horizontal FOV is 168'.
Image center is located approximately - Equatorial 2000: RA: 03h 29m 41s Dec: +59°09'25"