MaGeOl
The Orion Nebula Complex
The Orion Nebula Complex is a huge cluster of well-known astronomical objects such as the Great Orion Nebula, the Horsehead Nebula, the Flame Nebula, the Running Man Nebula, Barnard's Loop, m78 and others. Many of these nebulae are about 1500 light-years away, and some of them are active star-forming zones. Above and to the right of the center of the image you can see three stars in a line - Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka - which are familiar to many people, forming an asterism called Orion's Belt.
Because the human eye is unable to accumulate light like a camera, only the Great Orion Nebula (below and to the right of center) is visible to the naked eye. In the center of the image is the Horsehead Nebula, a cluster of dark dust on the background of an ionized hydrogen cloud. Just above it is the Flame Nebula. Above and just to the left of the center of the image is the beautiful blue reflecting nebula m78. Wrapping around the left side of the frame is the red nebula Barnard's Loop. It is so large that it surrounds the Great Orion Nebula and Orion's Belt. Its diameter is about 1200 arcminutes. For comparison, the angular diameter of a full moon is about 30 arcminutes, which means that Barnard's Loop could contain up to 40 full Moons lined up in a row.
36x300" LRGB
Samyang 135mm f/2 (f/2.8 used) lens
ZWO ASI2600MM camera
iOptron HAE43c mount
The Orion Nebula Complex
The Orion Nebula Complex is a huge cluster of well-known astronomical objects such as the Great Orion Nebula, the Horsehead Nebula, the Flame Nebula, the Running Man Nebula, Barnard's Loop, m78 and others. Many of these nebulae are about 1500 light-years away, and some of them are active star-forming zones. Above and to the right of the center of the image you can see three stars in a line - Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka - which are familiar to many people, forming an asterism called Orion's Belt.
Because the human eye is unable to accumulate light like a camera, only the Great Orion Nebula (below and to the right of center) is visible to the naked eye. In the center of the image is the Horsehead Nebula, a cluster of dark dust on the background of an ionized hydrogen cloud. Just above it is the Flame Nebula. Above and just to the left of the center of the image is the beautiful blue reflecting nebula m78. Wrapping around the left side of the frame is the red nebula Barnard's Loop. It is so large that it surrounds the Great Orion Nebula and Orion's Belt. Its diameter is about 1200 arcminutes. For comparison, the angular diameter of a full moon is about 30 arcminutes, which means that Barnard's Loop could contain up to 40 full Moons lined up in a row.
36x300" LRGB
Samyang 135mm f/2 (f/2.8 used) lens
ZWO ASI2600MM camera
iOptron HAE43c mount