here's an image I managed a few nights ago, hope you all like it.
Paul Mayo
The Great Nebula in Orion (Messier 42 . NGC 1976 . Sharpless 2-281)
Perhaps the most well known celestial object in the night sky is The Great Nebula in the belt of the constellation Orion, the Hunter. Visible to the naked eye, this massive nebula is a relatively close 1500 light-years distance, and busily in the process of forming new stars. The Great Nebula is in-fact the brightest part of a far larger nebula that covers more than 10 degrees of our night sky.
The Great Nebula is illuminated by the light produced from the four young stars at the crux of the nebula (bottom-centre). These four stars are collectively known as the Trapezium and appear to the naked-eye as a single star, Theta-1 Orionis. The Trapezium stars are young stars which have formed from the nebula and since birth their stellar winds have blown the nebula into the partial bubble shape we see today. The inner part of the nebula produces strong light in Oxygen-III and Hydrogen-Beta wavelengths making the core appear greenish in a moderate size telescope. The Great Nebula was first discovered by Peiresc, 159 years before it become the 42nd object (M 42) in the famous Messier list.
The bright star at top-right of the image is Iota (44) Orionis also known by the names of Nair al Saif (and Hatysa in Becvar). This star has observed mass ejections with velocities reaching 1600 kilometres per second, Nair al Saif also exhibits enhanced ultraviolet emissions and is a Helium deficient star by a factor of 10 relative to standard stars.
Image Details
Field of View: full frame image, ~ 49 x 33 arc-minutes
Telescope: 304mm f/5 reflector telescope, hand guided.
Camera: Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel.
Exposures:
4 x 8-minute exposures @ ISO200.
1 x 5-minute exposures @ ISO200.
5 x 30-second exposures @ ISO200.
Total Exposure time: ~ 40 minutes.
Sky Conditions:
First quarter Moon high in sky.
Seeing: 9.5/10 (excellent seeing),
Wind: 2/10 Moisture: 0/10.
Ambient Temperature: 19.5° C.
Notes: used Baader Coma Corrector.
Looks almost like an Oil painting, You can look at it for ages.
Next time I'm out with the 12" dob, I plan to look at it for ages and try to visually see the salmon colour. Still have yet to see any "pink bits" visually
Another example of "they don't make-em like they used to". That old "hand guider" works every time. Good stuff. Much better than if you had pressed record and went inside for a coffie.
Fantastic .... I never tire of M42.... looks like the gaping mouth of a beautiful but deadly space carnivore, luring in unsuspecting prey
Or maybe its just my over active imagination
Fantastic .... I never tire of M42.... looks like the gaping mouth of a beautiful but deadly space carnivore, luring in unsuspecting prey
Or maybe its just my over active imagination
Hi gaa_in,
Yeah looking at M42 is certainly a treat. I spent some time viewing it with the 12-inch the other night - the image stayed stained on my retina for a long time.
Nice image Paul. Looks like someone has been using the unsharp mask to bring out the fine detail.
Thanks rumples riot,
Yeah just a tad of unsharp mask. I find that too much takes away the photo look of the image (even though it may enhance details), so it's bit of a balance to get just the right amount of u-masking.
Another example of "they don't make-em like they used to". That old "hand guider" works every time. Good stuff. Much better than if you had pressed record and went inside for a coffie.
Reward for effort, there's nothing like it!
Geeday Stu,
I couldnt agree with you more. In fact if I were to press record and go inside for a coffee - that would take the enjoyment of my hobby away from me - I sometimes don't process my images for days after taking them - as that is less enjoyable to me than actually being out there and collecting the photons myself.
Remind me to make you a coffee next time I see you.
wow, beautiful , awe inspiring, amazing detail, highly skilled graphical manipulation and a wonderful outcome!!! You dropped the gauntlet for Scott with this one Paul!
