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Orion Nebula Messier 42 (M42)

The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky with apparent magnitude 4.0. It is about 1,344 light-years away and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light-years across (so its apparent size from Earth is approximately 1 degree). It has a mass of about 2,000 times that of the Sun. (ref. Wikipedia) This image was taken through some high, thin cloud cover.

 

Observation data: J2000 epoch

Subtype: Reflection/Emission

Right ascension: 05h 35m 17.3s

Declination: −05° 23′ 28″

Distance: 1,344±20 ly

Apparent magnitude (V): 4.0

Apparent dimensions (V): 65×60 arcmins

Constellation: Orion

 

Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, 24 x 300 second guided exposures, darks from the library and flats at the end of imaging, Optolong L-eXtreme 2” filter, focused with a ZWO EAF, controlled with a ZWO ASIAir Pro. Processed using PixInsight and DSS. Image Date: February 8, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).

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Uploaded on March 6, 2023