Arcturus: A Stunning Capture on a Clear Night
It's not often we get a perfect night for stargazing and astrophotography, but last night, the skies cleared, and I was finally able to put my equipment to good use. I captured this image of Arcturus, a star that's been on my list for a while.
The Gear:
Capturing celestial objects like Arcturus requires specialized equipment. Here's what I used for this shot:
- Telescope: William Optics RedCat 51
- Camera: Zwo Asi 533MC Pro
- Autoguiding: Zwo Asi120mm Guide camera and Zwo 30F4 Mini Guide Scope
- Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Mount
- Control & Acquisition: Zwo AsiAir Plus
The Process:
Achieving a detailed image like this involves careful acquisition and processing:
- Acquisition: I took 180 light frames, each with a 10-second exposure. I also acquired 45 frames each of flats, darks, and dark flats.
- Stacking: All the acquired data was stacked using ASI DSS.
- Post-Processing: The final touches and color correction were done in Adobe Lightroom and Canva.
The Image:
Here is the captured image of Arcturus:
The Experience:
It's been a challenging few months with less than ideal weather. Owning the ASI 533MC Pro since November 2024, I've only had a handful of truly clear evenings that also aligned with my availability. The combination of weather, my location's obstructions, and finding clear windows has been tough. However, seeing this image come together makes all the effort worthwhile.
I'm already looking forward to shooting Andromeda in August, as it fits perfectly within my scope's field of view. I'm eager to see how the 533MC Pro performs on deeper sky objects compared to my previous Nikon D5600.
Clear skies and happy shooting to all!
