LMC

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)

The field of view of the ST5 CCD camera when fitted with a standard 50mm (still) camera lens is perfectly suited for photographing our own Milky Way galaxy's companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud. With this setup, mounted on a tripod, exposures were limited to 20 sec. before the star images started to trail. Thanks to Sutherland's cool climate, the chip temperature soon reached -25°C, nicely reducing the dark current of the CCD. Since a red filter was used, the nebulaé show up nicely, particularly the famous Tarantula, just below the middle, right.

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