Hi all,
Wanted to share this M42 I photographed in Johannesburg suburbs, amidst a lot of light pollution.
It's a wonderful target for novice to experienced imagers as there's always more data and detail to find. It's easy to capture - but difficult to master.
I used 2 exposure settings to capture more feint outer detail with a longer exposure, and shorter exposures to maintain the inner core, using the HDRcomposition function in PixInsight. I wish I shot even more data / longer subs to get more detail in the surrounding feint nebulosity.
Image details:
(for bigger image click here)
Total: 196min (3:16hrs)
40x 240sec ISO400
36x 60sec ISO400
20 darks
100 bias
30 flats
Canon 60Da
Officina Stellare HiperAPO
Celestron Advance VX
Guiding: SSAG & PHD
Acquisition: Nebulosity
Processing: PixInsight and PhotoShop