M35 and M36 the other night! (1-7-16)

Two more Messier objects off the list. M35 and M36 are both open clusters located near each other. The shots are OK but not great. Unfortunately, the autoguider was not guiding properly so I only took ~15 minute exposures. Because the images show star streaks when magnified, I used very little cropping. I have not had this problem before, the only thing I can think of is that the polar alignment was off or my alignment was so far off the guider could not overcome it.

M35 is located in Gemini approximately 2800 light-years (ly) from Earth and 22 ly across. Located in the lower right side of this image is NGC 2158 which is another open cluster similar to M35 but appears much fainter as it is 5-times more distant. M36 is located in Auriga approximately 4100 ly from Earth and 14 ly across. Also located in the lower right side of this image is a small nebula which I have not able to identify.

Image 1


M35 - Open Cluster, NGC-2158 - Open Cluster
Location: Monroe, CTDate/Time: 1/7/16 8:55 pm
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm 

Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G GoTo Telescope Mount
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to and Orion Short Tube 80mm
Focal Length: 600mm

f/7.5
Exposure: 15-60s (total exposure, 15 min)
ISO: 800
Post Processing: DSS, PS

Image 2


M36 - Open Cluster
Location: Monroe, CT

Date/Time: 1/7/16 9:17 pm
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm 

Apochromatic Refractor Telescope

Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G GoTo Telescope Mount
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to and Orion Short Tube 80mm
Focal Length: 600mm

f/7.5
Exposure: 15-60s (total exposure, 15 min)
ISO: 800
Post Processing: DSS, PS