Hey what's up everyone! Mack Murdoc here with OPT and in today's video we're
going to be going over the top 15 summer targets. We are now leaving galaxy season
and entering into milky way season which brings us less bigger galaxies that are in our universe
but much bigger and brighter nebulas that are located in our own galaxy.
Our own milky way has so many amazing ones to choose from and you don't need a long-range
telescope to be able to shoot them which makes them a little bit easier than galaxy season in
my own personal opinion and not only are we going to mention the best targets to image
but we're also going to mention what focal length to shoot them from and I'll throw out
a few personal recommendations on telescopes filters and accessories that might be helpful
these focal links are meant to have these targets fill the majority of the frame
so don't worry if you've got a little bit of a shorter or longer telescope
you can still get these targets and it will still be awesome now keep in mind just like our winter
and spring targets video all focal lengths in this video are based off a micro four third size sensor
which is in cameras like the ASI 1600 so this will change depending on what camera and sensor
you're shooting with but first before we get started if you appreciate the love and effort
that we put into these videos please consider donating a click to the like button it's free
to do and you can do it anywhere there's an internet connection here I'll show you.
Allright let's get into our top 15 summer targets the first object on this list is actually one of
the first objects i personally ever shot with a DSLR it's the lagoon nebula it's a bright emission
nebula that lies in the constellation Sagittarius 4 100 light years from home the object is super
bright and extremely large in fact you can see it with your naked eye and if you've ever shot
the milky way before you've probably seen that purple looking star and wondered what it was
this object is best shot at 400 to 600 millimeters to just get the lagoon or you
can zoom out at around 300 millimeters or less and get the Trifid nebula which is right next to it
this object can be shot in both broadband and narrowband which makes it perfect for DSLRs as
well our next object is the infamous eagle nebula also known as m16 home of the Hubble
space telescope's most famous picture the pillars of creation the eagle nebula is an emission nebula
that lives in the constellation serpents 7 000 light years from earth it's best shot
at around 600 to 1 000 millimeters in narrowband but you can still definitely shoot it in broadband
if you want to get close in on the pillars of creation you're looking at something around 2
500 millimeters now if you're shooting the eagle nebula and pretty much most narrow band emission
nebulas with a color camera we would recommend using something like the triad ultra filter
or the Optolong L-Extreme to really block out the light pollution and isolate the wavelengths that
you really want most with the triad ultra filter you can even image from the most
light polluted cities which is freaking awesome I'm sure I'll make a video showing the power
of the triad ultra filter shooting from my portal billion apartment in Hollywood California.
our next target is one of the most beautiful and color ones in the night sky in my own personal
opinion this area is called Rho Ophiuchi located in the constellation Ophiuchus
only 460 light years from home it's a beautiful cloud complex
with dark nebulas around the bright stars with thick dark gases and galactic dust
this object is huge and best shot around 100 millimeters in broadband check out this image
taken by Dustin Gibson with a DSLR and Rogelio from deep sky colors with a dedicated astro cam
up at number four we have the omega nebula also known as the swan nebula and catalogued as m17 the
omega nebula is around 5 500 light years away from earth and located in the constellation Sagittarius
this object is best imaged around 800 to 1200 millimeters in narrowband but you can definitely
still shoot it in broadband especially if you have an astro modified camera you can really
pull out the bright hydrogen alpha data and see it really pop out of the milky way up at number
five we have one of my favorite targets in fact it's the home to most of these targets in fact
it's the home to us it's our own milky way galaxy most people start astrophotography by shooting the
milky way against a beautiful landscape if you haven't shot the milky way galaxy before make
sure that you subscribe to this channel because we're going to be coming out with a tutorial on
how to do that but just as a basic overview you can shoot the milky way untracked with just a DSLR
lens and tripod for that we would recommend focal length around 14 millimeters 24 millimeters 35
millimeters anywhere in there is personally where i like to stay the wider your focal length the
more exposure time that you'll be able to shoot without seeing star trails you can shoot it with
higher focal length but you're limiting yourself to the exposure time but then we get into tracked
images with the star tracker like the iOptron sky guider pro or the skywatcher star adventure
which we've made a full tutorial on how to use and why you would want one that you can check out
right here this helps extend your exposure time by giving you less noise due to being able to drop
down your iso and give you so much more details here are a few images that i shot using the sky
watchers star adventure also don't forget that a sturdy tripod is so important so that you don't
get any camera shake and it protects your image from the environment around you like dragons
our personal recommendation is the radiant carbon fiber tripod that we built four astrophotographers
in mind you can check out the full video on why this tripod is so great right over here
at number six we have the intricate Trifid nebula also known as m20 located 5 200 light years away
from home right next to the lagoon nebula in Sagittarius the reason why i say intricate
is because it's actually three different types of nebulae in one this is the emission nebulae
this is the reflective nebulae and this is the dark nebulae reflection nebulae are best shot in
LRGB broadband so i recommend that you shoot it in broadband but you can also shoot it in narrowband
and get some interesting variations the Trifid is best shot around 600 to 1000 millimeters now
let me jump in here to let you know about light pollution filters if you're shooting broadband
LRGB targets you want something that doesn't cut out too much of your spectrum since LRGB is pretty
much capturing most of it so we would recommend something like the Optolong l-pro filter on the
other hand if you're looking for a filter for those narrow band targets we would recommend
either using the l-enhance or the L-Extreme or a personal favorite the Radian triad ultra filter
which will allow you to shoot your favorite narrow band targets from the brightest of cities
all right let's move on to number seven we have the north American nebula in the constellation of
Cygnus this emission nebula is easy hop skip and a jump away at 1500 light years away from earth
there's so much to unpack on this one it's huge you can capture the whole thing filling the frame
at about 150 millimeters from our perspective it's about 10 times bigger than the moon
it's best shot in narrowband but can still be shot in broadband and its two most notable features
is the Cygnus wall and pelican nebula the cygnus wall is one of my top favorites in fact here's
an image that i took with the explore scientific 127 and the ASI 1600. another great feature is the
pelican nebula located right here both targets are best shot around the 1000 millimeter mark
at number eight we have the Sadar region which is right next to the north American nebula in the
constellation of Cygnus another emission nebula which is really rich in hydrogen alpha data
best shot in narrowband around 150 millimeters but broadband works as well
there is so much going on here and if you've got a longer focal length telescope you can literally
pick any random spot and get some epic images over the hydrogen emission gases now if you look
right next to the Sadar region in the same Cygnus constellation you'll find the ninth target the
crescent nebula but let's be real with ourselves here it doesn't look like a crescent and therefore
let's call it the brain nebula because well it looks like a brave the newly coined brain nebula
is best shot in narrowband specifically ha and o3 data and you can get a pretty good detailed shot
anywhere between 1000 and 2000 millimeters which would almost fill up the frame use the hashtag
brain nebula in your images so that we can check them out and who knows you might get featured our
10th target on this list is one of those that are super rich in ha and o3 and there's really
not that much s2 to be honest with you it's the veil nebula the veil nebula is 2 400 light years
from earth and in the constellation of sickness it's pretty much the remnants of a giant exploded
supernova star the veil nebula has three different parts the eastern veil or what i like to call the
joker nebula the western veil also known as the witch's broom and Pickering's triangle this is
another very large target and can fill your whole frame at 275 millimeters or you can capture each
section at around 600 millimeters 275 millimeters is perfect with the radian raptor telescope which
we made a full video for that you can check out right here also check out these radiant t-shirts
that say for those who collect light in the dark how cool is that also if you haven't already go
hit the like button thanks our next summer object is the elephant's trunk nebula located in the
Cepheus constellation 2 400 light years from home best shot in narrowband and with enough
data it can be extremely vibrant and colorful to get the full big bright nebula you want to have a
telescope around 200 to 300 millimeters something like the radian raptor at 275 millimeters will fit
the frame nicely if you would like to get just the trunk itself here's an image that i shot at 952
millimeters with the asi 1600 of just hydrogen alpha data now let's switch things up a little
for object number 12. we got Jupiter and Saturn the two biggest gas giants in our solar system
they are some of the brightest dots in the sky and hard to miss for both it really helps to
have a large focal length telescope around 2000 millimeters and above to get some pretty decent
details on these targets you can definitely shoot them with less though check out our
videos on the asi 183 and the 174 for some good idea on planetary cameras by clicking the link.
Right over here or down in the description at number 13 we have the tulip nebula reaching
out at 5 800 light years from home in the Cygnus region it's an emission nebula which means it's
best shot in narrowband but the h8 is definitely strong enough that you can pick up with broadband
it's best shot at 800 to 1500 millimeters some of the data is fairly faint so make
sure that you spend some good time getting some s2 and o3 wavelengths at number 14 we have the
wizard nebula the wizard nebula is an emission nebula that lies 7 200 light years away from
earth in the constellation of Cepheus the thing i personally love about this nebula is that you
can really see the depth and layers of this nebula and see clearly what's in front and what's in back
the wizard nebula is a narrow band target but others have been known to photograph this one in
h a rgb Iwould recommend shooting this between 600 and 1200 millimeters of focal length and
finally our last target on the list the dumbbell nebula also known as m27 this
beautiful but small planetary nebula lies 1 300 light years away from earth in the constellation
Vulpeculae you can shoot this target around 1000 to 3000 millimeters in fact we made a really
fun episode shooting the dumbbell nebula with a fully automated Unistellar ev scope at only 450
millimeters that you can check out right over here and that about covers it guys was there one on the
list that we didn't get to cover that you were really excited about if so let us know down below
in the comments and just as a friendly reminder we've left some tools in the description below to
help you determine what the best focal length is for your specific camera and telescope if you guys
like this video don't forget to hit the thumbs up subscribe and hit the bell for notifications.
My name is Mack Murdoc here with OPT and we'll see you in the next video. Clear skies!