With the cold weather, we usually get some crystal-clear nights. The clear nights are perfect for backyard deep space photography. The setup can be simple to very complex, depending on the images you are trying to capture.
I usually use a digital camera with up to a 500mm lens mounted on a device that can track stars.This device allows the camera to move at the same relative speed as the Earth to the stars. This allows for long exposures with no star trails or motion blur. These images were taken with a smart imaging telescope, which basically does the same thing. I take a series of 10-second exposures, over an hour or two, and then stack the images together into one image containing more detail.
The Rosette Nebula is about 5,000 light-years away in the Milky Way Galaxy. It has enough gas and dust to form around 10,000 stars over millions of years, though new stars emerge at a gradual pace. On average, a new star is born here roughly every 100,000 years, according to the European Southern Observatory.
The Orion Nebula is about 1,344 light-years away in the Orion Constellation. It is the closest massive star-forming region to Earth and is visible to the naked eye as a glowing spot in Orion’s sword, according to NASA.
The Marblehead Current is proud to partner with photographer Rick Cuzner, who has been photographing local wildlife for over 16 years.
