Heart of the Swan

Behind the shot

A deep 42mm dive into the spine of the Swan, centered on the galactic plane. This view resolves the intricate stellar groupings between Sadr (γ Cyg) and the colorful Albireo (β Cyg), highlighting the immense star density of the Cygnus Rift. Fawaris (δ Cyg ) anchors the upper wing, while the red supergiant nature of Sadr begins to emerge against the rich Milky Way background.

Observation

Date: 09 Apr 2026
Time: 02:00 - 02:20 CEST
Site: Porto San Giorgio, Marche, Italy
Bortle: Class 6

Bortle Class 6

Bright Suburban Sky
Azimuth: +51° 31' 33.1"
Altitude: +18° 42' 43.9"

Atmospherics

Visibility: Average
Weather: Pre-dawn session, humid atmosphere
Moon: 60% Waning Gibbous

Acquisition

Camera: Panasonic Lumix G7
Lens: LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6
Mount: Static Tripod (Untracked)
Integration: 60 x 5s

Optics

Focal Length: 42mm
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: ISO 3200

Post-Processing

Software: SiriL + darktable
Pre-Processing: Master-frame subtraction, star-field star filtering, RBF Background extraction.
Post-Processing: Wavelet-based profiled denoise, Local Laplacian contrast for dense sky extraction, star temperature balancing, black level fine-tuning.