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2016 Oct. 10 ~ The Great Nebula in Orion (M42 & 43)

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Photographed at Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, between 03.10 and 03.38 EDT

(285 km by road north of Toronto)

* Altitude of nebula at time of exposures: 31-34°

* Temperature -2° C.

 

* Total exposure time: 13 minutes

* 540 mm focal length telescope

 

For a version of this photo WITH LABELS, click on your screen to the RIGHT of the photo, or click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/30004438900

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Description:

 

I cannot think of a more famous or more often photographed and observed object in the night sky than M42 & 43 in the constellation Orion. This nebula is visible to the unaided eye smack in the centre of the sword of Orion, hanging down from Orion's three-star belt.

 

From Wikipedia:

"The Orion Nebula ... is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun."

 

For more information about this object, click here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula

 

For another photograph of this nebula made in March 2017, click here:

www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/32743247300

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Technical information:

 

Nikon D810a camera body on Teleview 101is apochromatic refracting telescope, mounted on Astrophysics 1100GTO equatorial mount using an ADM Accessories side-by-side saddle

 

Main body of the nebula:

Thirteen stacked frames; each frame:

540 mm focal length

ISO 3200; 1 minute exposure at f/5.4; unguided

(with LENR - long exposure noise reduction)

 

Centre of the nebula:

Eight stacked frames; each frame:

540 mm focal length

ISO 2000; 15 seconds exposure at f/5.4; unguided

 

Subframes registered in RegiStar;

Stacked and processed in Photoshop CS6 (levels, brightness, contrast, colour balance, sharpening)

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Uploaded on October 13, 2016