The Orion Nebula 22nd March 2020 @ 19:35 UT
I love viewing and imaging the Orion Nebula. From the very first image that appears on my monitor it is impressive. Wispy clouds of gas and fiery stars burning at its heart.
Image: 4 seconds x 154 frames (616 second total), gain 13183, bin 2x2, Raw 14, black level 99, camera temperature 10.6 deg C, no darks etc. Stacked in SharpCap Pro 3.2.6248.0. The image was stacked and adjusted in SharpCap and cropped to remove field rotation.
The nebula's altitude was 28 degrees in the south-west. Skies Bortle 4/5 but the south-west direction is the least light polluted from my location.
Equipment: Celestron CPC-800 at F5.9, Alt-Az mount, Altair Astro Hypercam 294C Pro Cooled (fan), Celestron Focuser, CPWI controlled remotely via Microsoft RDP and ASCOM.
Astrometry: M42 (bottom nebula) and M43 (top nebula) distance 1,400 light-years. The grouping of what appears to be 4 stars (in this image) at the centre of M43 is the Trapezium consisting of O and B type stars. First recorded by Charles Messier in 1769.
