ORION NEBULA
The Orion Nebula (Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is one of the brightest nebulae visible to the naked eye in the Orion constellation. It is seen as the middle “star” in Orion’s Sword, the three stars located south of Orion’s Belt. Older texts frequently refer to the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.
De Mairan’s Nebula (Messier 43, M43, or NGC 1982) is physically part of the Orion Nebula but separated from the main nebula by a dense lane of dust known as the northeast dark lane.
Sh2-279 (Sharpless 279) is a bright nebula located north of the Orion Nebula and part of Orion’s Sword. The reflection nebula embedded in Sh2-279 is popularly known as the Running Man Nebula.
NGC 1980 (The Lost Jewel of Orion) is a young open cluster associated with an emission nebula in the Orion constellation.
NGC 1981 is an open cluster in the Orion constellation.
These are part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that includes a large group of bright nebulae and dark clouds in the Orion constellation that consists of the Horsehead Nebula (B33), Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), M78, and Barnard’s Loop (Sh2-276).
November 12, 2020
This was my first attempt at the Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula with my new William Optics Zenithstar 61II and iOptron SkyGuider Pro from my Bortle 8 backyard in November 2020. Not bad considering the light pollution.
Details
Location: Whittier, California, USA (Bortle 8)
Date: November 12, 2020
Moon: Waning Crescent (8%)
Camera: Sony α7R III
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: Optolong L-Pro 2”
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro
Camera Settings: ISO 400 | f/5.9 | 120 sec
Software: DeepSkyStacker, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom Classic
Flickr Image 11/12/2020:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenkwuphotography/51931518980/in/album-72177720297270391/
November 14, 2020
Two days later, we would go to Joshua Tree National Park where I would get my first DSO images at a dark location with my new William Optics Zenithstar 61II and iOptron SkyGuider Pro. I split imaging time between the Orion Nebula and Pleiades for the night.
Details
Location: Pinto Basin Sand Dunes, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA (Bortle 4)
Date: November 14, 2020
Moon: New Moon
Camera: Sony α7R III
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: None
Mount: iOptron SkyGuider Pro
Camera Settings: ISO 1600 | f/5.9 | 150 sec
Software: PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom Classic
Flickr Image 11/14/2020:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenkwuphotography/51930986203/in/album-72177720297270456/
November 1-5, 2022
From January 1-5, 2022, I took images from my front patio at home (Bortle 8) using the Optolong L-eXtreme filter to capture in Ha. I took multiple exposures to create an HDR image due to the dynamic range of the Orion Nebula.
39 x 10 sec = 6 min 30 sec
40 x 30 sec = 20 min
97 x 180 sec = 4 hrs 51 min
Integration Time: 5 hrs 17 min 30 sec
November 25, 2022
On January 25, 2022, I went to Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park (Bortle 4) and used the Astronomik UV-IR Blocking filter to capture in RGB. I also took multiple exposures. Unfortunately, we arrived at the park after 10 PM (much later than expected), and I could only image for about an hour before Orion was too low on the horizon. I ended up using only 10 subframes as the rest were too bright from the light pollution near the horizon.
20 x 10 sec = 3 min 20 sec
20 x 30 sec = 10 min
10 x 180 sec = 30 min
Integration Time: 43 min 20 sec
I decided to attempt a HaRGB combination by extracting the starless red Ha channel from the image at home and combining them with the RGB image from Joshua Tree.
I am pleased with the increase in red from the added Ha data.
Details
Location: Montclair, California, USA (Bortle 8); Cholla Cactus Garden, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA (Bortle 4)
Date: January 1-5, 2022; January 28, 2022
Moon: New Moon; Waning Crescent (12%)
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2”; Astronomik L2 UV-IR Blocking 2”
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300
Camera Settings: Gain 100 | f/5.9 | 10 sec, 30 sec, 180 sec
Software: PixInsight, Topaz Labs Denoise AI, Adobe Lightroom Classic
Flickr Album 1/1/2022 - 1/28/2022:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenkwuphotography/albums/72177720297297858