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

raw sample, 3 min

stack of 21×3 min

stack of 21×3 min

coloring

coloring

stage, before heal

stage, before heal

no bright stars

no bright stars

faint stars detected

faint stars detected

no fain stars

no fain stars

before the merge: the nostars version

before the merge: the nostars version

before the merge: the stars plus bright nebulae version

before the merge: the stars plus bright nebulae version

the healed version generated with no human intervention – too saturated for my taste

the healed version generated with no human intervention – too saturated for my taste

all the stars

all the stars

almost no stars

almost no stars

setting the healed frame’s opacity to 69%

setting the healed frame’s opacity to 69%

The final picture: dialed down Deneb halo and adjusted saturation

The final picture: dialed down Deneb halo and adjusted saturation

 
Left: All the stars
Right: Almost no stars
 
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