Orion - A Space Odyssey

So as I pondered my astrophotography images and thought how the challenge is always to produce heavenly bodies in the most accurate detail that our available equipment can produce: why aren't astrophotography images ever - NEVER EVER - slid?!!

 

So this may be a world first. This is an actual photograph of the Orion Nebula shot through my telescope, that has been slid, then slid again.

 

It is an accurate representation of the Orion Nebula and surrounding stars, in a pixelated sort of way. (For those of you that are super nerdy and think something is wrong, note that it is shot in the Southern Hemisphere, so it will look "upside down" to Northern Hemisphere nerds).

 

[There are in fact two nebulae in this image: the "big clump" is the Orion Nebula, Messier 42/M42, and the "little clump" on the right-hand-side is De Mairans Nebula, Messier 43/M43].

 

If you are looking at this constellation without the aid of a telescope, these nebulae appear to be the "star" in the centre of the three stars that make Orion's sword (or in Australia, we would describe it as the star in the middle of the saucepan's handle!)

 

I like it. It's a shot for the 21st Century. PacMan goes extra-terrestial!

Done