Hey what's up everyone, Mack Murdoc here from OPT
and today's episode has been the most highly requested episode - so we had to make it.
Every time we've done a video on the top targets of the northern hemisphere we get
so many messages asking to do one for the southern hemisphere.
So here we are with our top 10 southern hemisphere targets. Now I should mention, I don't live in the
southern hemisphere so it took a lot of research to go into an area that I'm not too familiar
with. So if you appreciate the effort that was put into this video please consider smashing
the like button to show some love, besides every time you smash the like button life moves on...
What if I don't want to hit the like button?
Yeah no no I'll hit the like button.
We're going to be going over the best targets to image, focal lengths to shoot them with telescopes
and accessories, that will be very helpful. These focal length are meant to have these targets fill
the majority of the frame. So don't worry, if you have a shorter or longer telescope, you can
still image these targets just fine. Now, keep in mind, just like our winter, spring and summer
targets video all focal lengths in this video are based off a micro 4/3 sized sensor, which is in
cameras like the ASI 1600. So these will change depending on which camera that you're shooting.
Also, I've only added the top 10 in this video versus our northern hemisphere that has the top 15
because you guys down there share a lot of the same Milky Way targets around
the galactic core that we do. So, make sure that you watch that video as well,
because those Milky Way targets still apply. And that's like 20 targets for you to choose from. So
these are mostly specific to the southern hemisphere with two or three exceptions.
Alright, so the 1st one on this list, we have a target that I'm the most jealous of. And it's one
of my favorites in the Southern Hemisphere, the Fighting dragons of Ara! Also known as NGC 6188.
These dragons are located four thousand light years away from home in the constellation of Ara.
It's an emission nebula, so it's definitely best shot in narrowband.
But it's so strong in Ha that it can be shot with a DSLR anywhere between 300-500mm. I mean,
dude look how cool is this. Dragons! It's so what it looks like dude. Dragons of Ara.
So our next object is the infamous M16, also known as the Eagle Nebula,
which is also an emission nebula that lives in the constellation of Serpens
7000 light years from Earth. And just like we mentioned in our last video, this is home to
Hubble Space Telescope. Most famous picture of the Pillars of Creation. The Eagle Nebula
is best shot from 600-1000mm in narrowband, but you can still definitely shoot it in broadband.
If you want to get close up on the Pillars of Creation, you're looking at anything above 2500mm.
Up at number 3, we got the Running Chicken Nebula, also known as IC 2944.
It's an open cluster and an emission nebula found in the constellation of Centaurus.
6500 light years away from Earth. This object can both be shot in broadband
and narrowband. The Running Chicken Nebula is best shot at about 500-600mm.
Speaking of broadband versus narrowband, let's spend a few seconds to go over the filters
really quick that might help. We explained it a little bit more in our last video,
but the short version is with Broadband / LRGB targets you want something like an LPro
light pollution filter. But with narrowband targets
you want something like the LExtreme or our personal favorite, the Triad Ultra Filter.
For our 4th target, we don't have a nebula or galaxy for you. We got Jupiter and Saturn,
the two biggest gas giant planets. These are some of the brightest dots in the sky and they're hard
to miss. For both of them it really helps to have a large focal length telescope around 2000mm and
above to get some decent details on these targets. You can definitely shoot them with less, though.
Check out our videos on the ASI183 and the 174 for some good ideas on
planetary cameras by clicking the link right here or in the description below.
At number 5, we have the Cat's Paw, also known as NGC 6334 located in the constellation of
Scorpius 5500 light years away from home. Man, astronomers really like these animals. We got
cats, jellyfish and lobsters and tarantulas and eagles and
even running chickens and dragons. It's like a galactic zoo out there!
The Cat's Paw is big and bright and can be captured with pretty much anything between
a 500-800mm telescope. You can capture its bright hydrogen data with broadband,
but narrowband is where this object really shines.
Next up, we have another creature, the Lobster Nebula,
also known as NGC 6357 and commonly known in the Southern Hemisphere as the War and Peace Nebula.
It's located in the constellation of Scorpius 8000 light years from home. This target is huge.
And there are so many different narrowband variations that you can do. You can shoot
the Lobster wide at 300-600mm. This makes it a great target for something like the Radian Raptor.
Next, we have a target that exist both in the northern and southern hemisphere. In fact,
it exists everywhere. There's a computer and it's that wonderful like button. It's a small target,
but it can be captured from a phone, computer, tablet, daytime, nighttime,
even in VR. So you might as well capture that easy target by clicking that good old thumbs up button.
At number 7, we have the Prawn Nebula. Located right between the Dragons,
Cat Paw and Lobster Nebula. This is a lot of animals!
In the constellation of Scorpius 6000 light years away from Earth. This emission nebula
isn't the brightest so make sure that you spend some good time getting some really good data so
you can pull out all those details. It's best shot in narrow band, but can also be shot in broadband.
At number 8, we have the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. This beautiful spiral galaxy is also known as M83.
It's located in the constellation of Hydra and it's a whopping 14.7 million light years from
Earth. This is definitely a broadband LRGB target, but adding those extra hydrogen alpha frames can
really help make those red missions really pop. In fact, you can see this cool looking
galaxy with a good set of binoculars. I'd say this galaxy is best shot between 1000-1500mm.
And as a thanks for sticking around, check out the link in the description
below to download some amazing free raw data provided by the amazing Matthew Dietrich.
Coming up at number 9, we have the Corona, Australia's dark molecular cloud,
most commonly known as Corona Australis, meaning "southern place".
So obviously it had to make the list. Lying between the constellations of Sagittarius and
Scorpius, about 430 light years away from Earth. This reflection nebula is best shot at 600-1200mm
in broadband, making it perfect for DSLRs. In fact, there's an amazing video by Dylan O'Donnell
talking about the make up of this fascinating target that we'll link in the description below.
Finally, at number 10, we have all the amazing targets in the Milky Way, like the Lagoon,
Nebula, Trifid, Omega, Rho Ophiuchi and so many more that the southern hemisphere has as well.
We made a video talking about all of them in the Northern Hemisphere video last week. So
be sure to click the link right here or head down to the description below.
And that about wraps up our top 10 winter Southern Hemisphere targets.
I'd like to give a quick thank you to Sarah Longcor and Dylan O'Donnell for
making sure that I can provide you guys with the best information. If there's any
targets on this list that we didn't mention that you would like to recommend to others,
please throw them down in the comments below to help each other learn.
And just as a friendly reminder, we've included some tools in the description below
to help determine what the best focal length is for your specific camera. And we've included
links to all the telescopes, cameras, filters and anything else we've mentioned in this video.
Also, don't forget to download that free raw data and have some fun processing.
And as always, if you've enjoyed this video, please consider
smashing that like button, subscribing and hitting that bell for notifications.
My name is Mack Murdoc here with OPT and thanks for watching. Clear Skies!