Stacks Image 662

M42, The Great Orion Nebula

About this object

At visual magnitude +4, the great nebula in Orion is one of the skies brightest nebula. Its often imaged as it portrays a large and bright star forming region in the sky. This image of the Orion Nebula is a hybrid image. Six filters were used to create this composite. Normal red, green and blue along with Hydrogen Alpha, Oxygen III and Sulpher II. The Ha filter added extra brightness to the extensions of the nebula, OIII is strongest in the greenish areas near the center of the nebula. SII added to the brightest dark red areas. About 12.5hrs of exposure time was done to create the image. Near the upper part of the image is a reflection and emission nebula and dusty area called NGC 1973, 1975 and 1977 and also known as the "running man nebula".

Image Details

  • Optics : Stellarvue SVQ100 Triplet Refractor
  • Mount: Mountain Instruments MI-250
  • Camera: QSI 583
  • Filters: Astrodon RGB, 3nm Ha, 3nm OIII, 3nm SII
  • Exposure: R:130min, G and B:60min, Ha:140min, OIII:80min SII:100min
  • Camera/Mount Control: Maxim DL 5.23, CCD Commander
  • Processing: PixInsight 1.8, PS CS6
  • Location: Stark Bayou Observatory, Ocean Springs, MS
  • Date: Feb-Mar 14
Stacks Image 74
Stacks Image 75