Combination of 15, 3 minute exposures using an H-alpha filter.
SBIG ST-8XE CCD. 35mm f/2.8 Nikkon lens.
The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the wonders of the southern skies. Easily visible to the naked eye even in moonlight, the Cloud abounds with interesting deep-sky objects for any sized telescope.
The above image was taken with the camera lens at f/2.8. The one below was taken at f/4. A comparison shows the benifit of stopping down the lens when using an h-alpha filter. At f/4 the stars are much sharper, resulting in a more pleasing image.
