The constellation Norma is surrounded by the constellations Scorpius, Ara, Lupus, and Triangulum Australe. It forms the Milky Way’s Norma arm. Therefore there are a lot of stars anywhere you look. I wanted to capture something other than the nebulae, galaxies, or clusters. And this is exactly what I managed. This star cloud is not visible even from southern Europe, so I included it in the capture plan for my trip to Namibia.

In order to resolve the stars properly and fit the whole start cloud in the field of view, I used RedCat 51 telescope, having a focal length of 250 mm.

TelescopeWilliam Optics RedCat 51/250 f4.9
Aperture51 mm
Focal length250 mm
MountiOptron Skyguider Pro
AutoguidingZWO 178MM, QHY Mini Guide Scope 30/130 mm
CameraZWO ASI071 MC Pro @-10 °C
Filtersnone
Exposure40x180s, gain 95
Date2022-06-01