The Milky Way in Cygnus
Cygnus is a great vista even to the naked eye observer. Along the Lyra, the Northern Cross rules the region also featuring a bright patch of the Milky Way which the experienced amateur astronomer knows is loaded with deep sky objects. I decided to take a deep wide angle look at this iconic part of the northern sky. Although the lens used is a toy compared to other takes, I am pleased by the results. Prominent dso’s in the frame: NGC 7000 – North America nebula; IC 5070, IC 5067 – the Pelican nebula; Caldwell 33, 34 – the Veil nebula; open cluster NGC 6940; although not obvious, C 27, NGC 6888 Crescent nebula; IC 1318 the Sadr (γ Cygni) Region, and so on. Photons collected on 2016-11-20, 21×3 min, Canon 1100D mod, ISO 1600, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II @ f/4, HEQ5, used my star handler.
raw sample, 3 min
stack of 21×3 min
coloring
stage, before heal
no bright stars
faint stars detected
no fain stars
before the merge: the nostars version
before the merge: the stars plus bright nebulae version
the healed version generated with no human intervention – too saturated for my taste
all the stars
almost no stars
setting the healed frame’s opacity to 69%
The final picture: dialed down Deneb halo and adjusted saturation
