IC434 Horsehead and Flame Nebula v2

Featured in Astronomy Now Magazine Dec 2015 Edition.

 

The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion and is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. The dark cloud of dust and gas is a region in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex where star formation is taking place. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust blocking the light of stars behind it. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming. The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) can also be seen to the left of the image. (Wikipedia)

 

Reworked narrowband image: 23/11/14 & 11/1/15

Oxfordshire, UK

3.5 Hours Total Exposure

Hubble Palette Ha:G SII:R OIII:B

9x900s Ha, 3x900s SII, 2x900s OIII

 

Equipment:

T: Takahashi FSQ106ED

C: QSI683ws Mono CCD, Astronomik Filters (6nm Ha)

M: Celestron Advanced Vx

G: QHY5-II

 

Acquisition and Processing:

PHD2, Sequence Generator Pro, CCDStack, Photoshop CS6

Done