Finding the Hercules Cluster
Firstly, find Arcturus. The handle of the Big Dipper points to it. Once Arcturus has been located you need to find Vega. This is a bright blue Star which is part of the Summer Triangle. Now imagine a line stretching between the two stars and divide it in to three. One third in from Vega is a group of 4 stars called the Key Stone. The star on the nearest side to Arcturus is called Zeta. Once you have found this star just point your scope north a tad. Imaging In general you can get away with just one sub of stars and star clusters like this but it is always best to take a few more just in case there is some atmospheric turbulence also the length of the exposure and the ISO settings can be played with over 5 or 6 subs and you can pick the best one to edit or stack them all and see how they come out stacked. The longer the exposure the more stars you will capture that are hiding within the said cluster. The ISO should also be fairly high but not too high to introduce too much camera noise. These subs were taken at ISO 1600 but as I have mentioned, play about with the ISO settings and see what’s the best setting for your camera and star clusters. I only used Photoshop to add the title and copyright notice.Hercules Cluster
Description: Globular Cluster Common Name: Hercules Cluster Messier Catalogue: 13 NGC: 6205 Constellation: Hercules Size: 20 Arc Minutes Visual Magnitude: +5.78 Distance: 23 Kilo Light Years
(Image from SkySafari 5 Pro)
Specification
Date Taken: 18/04/2018 Telescope: Altair StarWave 70ED Diameter: 70mm Focal Length: 420mm Mount: SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Guiding?: No Camera: Canon EOS 1000D ISO: 400 Exposure Light Frames: 3 x 20 seconds Dark Frames: Bias Frames: Flat Frames: Stacking program: DeepSkyStacker Post Processing: Photoshop CS3
April - November
Finding the
Hercules Cluster
Firstly, find Arcturus. The handle of the Big Dipper points to it. Once Arcturus has been located you need to find Vega. This is a bright blue Star which is part of the Summer Triangle. Now imagine a line stretching between the two stars and divide it in to three.Hercules Cluster
Description: Globular Cluster Common Name: Hercules Cluster Messier Catalogue: 13 NGC: 6205 Constellation: Hercules Size: 20 Arc Minutes Visual Magnitude: +5.78 Distance: 23 Kilo Light Years
Specification
Date Taken: 18/04/2018 Telescope: Altair StarWave 70ED Diameter: 70mm Focal Length: 420mm Mount: SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Guiding?: No Camera: Canon EOS 1000D ISO: 400 Exposure Light Frames: 3 x 20 seconds Dark Frames: Bias Frames: Flat Frames: Stacking program: DeepSkyStacker Post Processing: Photoshop CS3
April - November
Imaging
In
general
you
can
get
away
with
just
one
sub
of
stars
and
star
clusters
like
this
but
it
is
always
best
to
take
a
few
more
just
in
case
there
is
some
atmospheric
turbulence
also
the
length
of
the
exposure
and
the
ISO
settings
can
be
played
with
over
5
or
6
subs
and
you
can
pick
the
best
one
to
edit
or
stack
them
all
and
see
how
they
come
out
stacked.
The
longer
the
exposure
the
more
stars
you
will
capture
that
are
hiding
within
the
said
cluster.
The
ISO
should
also
be
fairly
high
but
not
too
high
to
introduce
too
much
camera
noise.
These
subs
were
taken
at
ISO
1600
but
as
I
have
mentioned,
play
about
with
the
ISO
settings
and
see
what’s
the
best
setting for your camera and star clusters.
I
only
used
Photoshop
to
add
the
title
and
copyright
notice.
One
third
in
from
Vega
is
a
group
of
4
stars
called
the
Key
Stone.
The
star
on
the
nearest
side
to
Arcturus
is
called
Zeta.
Once
you
have
found
this
star just point your scope north a tad.
