Astro ! Is this just cloud

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

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I was sat in the garden tonight and realized just how many stars I could see so out came the camera. I could see an area ( with the naked eye) that looked a little cloudy, is it just cloud or something else ? ( First Astro ever) Thanks all.

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Excellent photo. You must have fairly dark skies!
Yes, the Milky way runs through your image, although that isn't the brightest part of it.
At the bottom left you have the top of the constellation Perseus. Heading a bit towards the top right, you seem to have captured the Perseus Double Cluster - well done!
Next, you have Cassiopeia (The "W" shape). After that you have Lacerta, a fairly dim collection of stars. Cygnus, where the Milky Way gets brighter, is just beyont the top right of your photo.
Stretching across the bottom right, you have the top of Pegasus. The Andromeda Galaxy, M31,should be just above, and slightly left, of the top of the house. You might be able to see a fuzzy oval there if you stretch the image a bit.
 
Nice to be able to look up and see that amazing sight, here in the city so much light pollution prevents it. :(
 
Thanks everyone, I thought possibly Milky way but don't have enough knowledge on the subject. I used to live in a built up area but I'm out in the sticks now and it is truly black at night. I now have something to play at on the dark winter nights to come. With this photo all I did was lay the camera on it's back on my dog kennel and give it I think 15 or 20 seconds exposure and there was a small amount of light pollution because of my lad having his bedroom light on ( I'll have to remove the wiring ;);)) There are a few blue specks in the image is this dead pixels or just the result of having very low light ?

Thanks for your detailed reply Donal it gives me something to research on this very rainy day !
 
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BADGER.BRAD said:
I was sat in the garden tonight and realized just how many stars I could see so out came the camera. I could see an area ( with the naked eye) that looked a little cloudy, is it just cloud or something else ? ( First Astro ever) Thanks all.

View attachment 334495
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Two very useful freebies for getting to know the sky at night are -

In the Sky (https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php) It is a website that list notable astronomical events throughout the year. It can be tailored to your lat and long and also suggests which things can be seen with the naked eye/binoculars/telescope

and

Stellarium (https://stellarium.org/) It is a free download and shows the sky for any lat and long and day.

Dave
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
There are a few blue specks in the image is this dead pixels or just the result of having very low light ?
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Could be stars... :)

To see if they're hot pixels (dead ones would be black in otherwise light areas), take a blank exposure (leave the lens cap on) at the same settings (in M mode is easiest) and see if there are any blue specks. They can be mapped out in many cameras or simply ignored.
 
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