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.
A very respectable result Kevin! A bit soft (noise reduction?) but I think your colours are excellent - you rendered the blue hues of the outer "fringe" well. Nice job!
A very respectable result Kevin! A bit soft (noise reduction?) but I think your colours are spot on - you rendered the blue hues of the outer "fringe" well. Nice job!
Cheers, Marcus
Yes, in colour palette it reminded me very much of another famous M42 image
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.
Yeah, nice result Kev! Lite and fluffy Looks good, colours are great!
Thanks Rod.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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...
Looks good, colours are great! 
