The Orion Nebula, aka Messier 42, at centre, with the blue Running Man Nebula (NGC 1973-5-7) above it. The smaller nebula attached to the top edge of M42 is M43. The blue star cluster at top above the Running Man is NGC 1981; the loose star cluster below M42 is NGC 1980. This is a stack of 8 x 5-minute exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera at ISO 800 unfiltered, blended with a stack of 6 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 1600 but through the dual-band Optolong L-Enhance filter that records the faint red nebulosity very well. Blending and masking the filtered with the unfiltered shots allows the faint red nebulosity to come through while retaining the blues, magentas and even subtle greens of the bright nebulosity and the blue of the hot stars as recorded by the “white-light” images. These two sets of long exposures are blended using luminosity masks with a set of 6 x 60-second exposures and 4 x 30-second exposures, both at ISO 400, for recording the bright core of M42 with its Trapezium stars that would otherwise be overexposed into a bright mass with only long exposures. The short exposures were all unfiltered. I applied a high-pass sharpening filter to snap up contrast in the dark lanes. All were through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at its native fast focal ratio of f/2.8. for a focal length of 420mm. Taken from home January 28, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020. PS’s Auto-Align function aligned all 24 images in one fell swoop in less than a minute.
This is the Belt of Orion with its three blue stars across the top of the frame (L to R: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka), with the iconic Horsehead Nebula (aka B33) below Alnitak, with the dark Horsehead set against the bright nebula IC 434, aka Orion’s Dagger. The pinkish nebula above Alnitak is NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula. The small blue reflection nebula left of the Horsehead is NGC 2023, with smaller IC 435 to the left of it. The field is filled with the large open cluster Collinder 70. The multiple star at bottom left of centre is Sigma Orionis. Many other smaller bits of reflection nebulas populate the field in and around the Belt. This is a blend of 8 x 5-minute exposures at ISO 800 unfiltered with 6 x 10-minute exposures at ISO 1600 shot through an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band nebula enhancement filter (it lets through only Oxygen III blue-green and Hydrogen-alpha red to really enhance the nebulosity). The filtered shot is blended in with the unfiltered shot to retain the best of both worlds: the rich reds captured by the filtered images without losing the range of colours in the other nebulas such as the salmon pinks of the Flame and the blue reflection nebulas and stars. All exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at f/2.8, from home on a very clear moonless night January 27, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020.
This is the nebula rich region in the constellation of Monoceros the Unicorn with the dark Cone Nebula (left of centre) and the small V-shaped and bright Hubble’s Variable Nebula at bottom, a reflection nebula that varies in form and brightness. Above the Cone Nebula is the triangular Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264, here upside down as the bright blue star 15 Mon is the base of the tree. The large region of nebulosity is Sharpless 2-273. The V-shaped dark nebula above centre is LDN 1603. Near 15 Mon is a blue reflection nebula. Another blue reflection nebula IC 2169 and associated star cluster Collinder 95 is at left — I framed the field to contain this nebula. Other bits of reflection nebulosity surround it - clockwise: NGC 2245, NGC 2247 and IC 446 above the main nebula. The rich faint cluster near centre is Trumpler 5. This is a blend of 8 x 5-minute exposures at ISO 800 unfiltered with 6 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 1600 shot through an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band nebula enhancement filter (it lets through only Oxygen III blue-green and Hydrogen-alpha red to really enhance the nebulosity). All exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at f/2.8, from home on a very clear moonless night January 26, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020.
