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Eric (rip) and I at the campground near Aho Way, Arizona. The camp was actually located in the mountains in Saguaro National Monument. We spent 3 nights there and got some wonderful pictures of Halley's Comet.
M42 great orion nebulae
Taken from backyard in Houston with light pollution filter
Es comet hunter on atlas mount (not well aligned)
Canon 5dmkii
@NASAGoddard : Here's a hunter we can cheer on - SOHO turned out to be a powerful comet hunter. t.co/D5hOTC1Vx8 @NASASunEarth (via Twitter twitter.com/NASAGoddard/status/626783178062172160)
The Charles Messier catalog lists 110 objects that are Not comets...he was a comet hunter and didn't like objects that distracted him from comets, so he made a list of things that might look like comets but are not.
Anyway, this was his first listed object, the Crab Nebula. This was literally the first time I've ever seen it from my light polluted back-yard, which is surprising that it was numbered M1 since it is so difficult to actually see.
Messier 78 or NGC 2068, also known as Casper the Friendly Ghost (not sure how it applies, I don’t see a ghost), is a bright blue reflection nebula in Orion. The nebula can be found between Betelgeuse and closer towards Alnitak.
Messier 78 is the brightest reflection nebula among a group of nebulae, including NGC 2064, NGC 2067, and NGC 2071. These are part of the Orion B molecular cloud complex, including the Horsehead Nebula, the Flame Nebula, Barnard’s Loop, and M42, the Orion Nebula.
M78 can be resolved in binoculars and small telescopes. M78 has often been mistaken for a comet, which explains why the Comet Hunter Charles Messier cataloged this in his list of non-comets.
M78 was discovered in 1780 by Pierre Mechain and cataloged by Charles Messier shortly after.
M78 lies about 1350 light-years away at a magnitude of 8.3.