M42 The Orion Nebula

[cometcatcher]

In a year or two I'll probably think this is a lousy pic, but it's my best Orion Nebula to date. I am deliberately shooting it in the cool of the morning to try and keep thermal noise down as it never gets really cold here in the tropics. Soon winter will be gone and I won't be able to image anything for noise.

I am too lazy to keep accurate records, I've just been nibbling at it a bit each night while waiting for comets to rise. It's about 4 hours worth through the SW ED100 with Orion focal reducer making it F7.2, unmodified Pentax K-5. Subs in various lengths up to a max of 5 minutes. HEQ5 pro, guiding with PHD2.

Bigger ---> http://astrob.in/118167/0/

[strongmanmike]

Has a rather nebulous glow to it Kevin and the trap blending looks good, nice result and deffinitely not lousy :thumbsup:

Mike

[PeterEde]

That looks awesome

[AstroJason]

You have got to be happy with that Kevin, really like the colours too.

[marc4darkskies]

A very respectable result Kevin! :thumbsup: A bit soft (noise reduction?) but I think your colours are excellent - you rendered the blue hues of the outer "fringe" well. Nice job!

Cheers, Marcus

[strongmanmike]

Yes, in colour palette it reminded me very much of another famous M42 image :whistle: ;)

[pluto]

Very nice, you've got to be happy with that one :)

[Amaranthus]

Terrific Kevin. The Running Man is super sharp and the blue reflections are lovely. A deep-integration M42 is definitely on the cards for me in Jan!!

[cometcatcher]

Thanks all!

Yes Marcus it is a bit soft. Due no doubt to the "boiling" air. Jetstream is it? It's like looking through water at the stars and as a result the guidestar was all over the place. While it has been clear, it has not been steady seeing wise. Useless for planets.

[Rod771]

Yeah, nice result Kev! Lite and fluffy :P Looks good, colours are great! :thumbsup:

[John K]

Sweet image - cannot wait for Orion to start rising early to have a go at this object towards the end of the year.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Rod.



Thanks John.

For me, shooting this at the end of the year would mean ambient temps 15 degrees higher than they are in the morning now. I think from memory noise doubles with every 6 degrees C so 2.5 X more noise. Which means I need to collect Horsehead data now before it gets hotter... :question:

[rustigsmed]

nice work kevin!

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Russell!

[Rex]

Beautiful image Kevin. Very ghostly look about it. Love the colours too.

[Tony_]

Great image Kevin. (but where's the comet?).

If you ever think this is lousy, then I look forward to seeing your future images!

Regards,
Tony.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Rex, Tony.

Definitely need a comet to pose along side. Or a comet with the Horsehead. That would be pretty neat.

[multiweb]

Woohoo!... Orion is back. Nice one. :thumbsup:

[RickS]

That's a great result, Kevin!

[Ross G]

A great looking Orion photo Kevin.

I like the glowing colours.

Ross.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Marc, Rick, Ross.

Yeah Orion is back. But a bit early for some still. ;)