Object: The Orion Nebula Messier 42, M42 is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way Galaxy, south of Orion’s Belt in the constellation of Orion. M42 is located 1344 light years away and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. It 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.
The Running Man Nebula Sh2-279 is a popular target for amateur astrophotographers, as it lies close to the Orion Nebula and has many guide stars. The outline of the running man shows up primarily in photographs; it is difficult to perceive visually through telescope, thought the reflection nebula itself is visible in small to medium apertures in dark skies.
Taken: January 26, 2020
Telescope: Skywatcher Esprit 80 ED Triplet APO Refractor
Mount: Paramount ME II unguided
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MC-Pro (cooled to -15C; unity gain) Bin 1×1.
Focuser: Starizona Micro Touch Autofocuser
Rotator: Optec Pixys LE camera field rotator
Filters used: Optolong L-eNhance on a Starizona Filter Slider
Exposures: 200x5sec., 200x10sec., 200x15sec., 156x30sec., for a total exposure time of 178 minutes (nearly 3 hours); Calibration: 40 darks per exposure time; 100 flats with 100 dark/flats. No bias frames.
Palette: RGB in High Dynamic Range to prevent blowout of the central core
Seeing Conditions:
Processed with PixInsight and Photoshop CC 2019