This is a portrait of the main nebulosity in Orion around the Belt and Sword, including: the Orion Nebula itself (at bottom), aka Messiers 42 and 43; the Running Man Nebula above (aka NGC 1973-5-7); the dark Horsehead Nebula (B33) silhouetted in front of the bright nebula IC 434; the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) above Alnitak; and at top left the reflection nebulas Messier 78 and NGC 2071. However, the entire field is filled with streamers and patches of emission and reflection nebulas. The three stars of the Belt of Orion are at centre, from L to R: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. The large loose open star cluster Collinder 70 surrounds the centre star of the belt, Alnilam. The bright blue star cluster NGC 1981 shines above the Running Man. The field of view is almost 9° by 6°. This is a stack of just 11 x 4-minute exposures with an Askar FMA230 astrograph (230mm focal length at f/4.5), and stock Canon R6 camera at ISO 800. The camera was not modified and no filters were employed here. The field could have used more exposures but clouds and altitude prevented that! Some light haze on some frames added star glows. I did not take short exposures for the core of the bright Orion Nebula. Nebulosity is brought out in Photoshop using successive curves with luminosity masks generated by Lumenzia, and with applications of the Nebula Filter action from the PhotoKemi StarTools action set, and Enhance DSO from the Astronomy Tools action set. All alignment and layering was in Photoshop. Taken from home January 25, 2022. Autoguided and dithered with the MGEN3 guider, with LENR dark frame subtraction also applied to each frame in camera to eliminate the edge amp glow the R6 exhibits. It was about -5° C this night.
Orion rising over mountains, as in the Robert Frost poem “The Star-Splitter.” Orion is coming up over the Peloncillo Mountains in New Mexico with Taurus above him. This is a stack of 4 x 90 second exposures with the 35mm lens at f/2.2 and Canon 6D at ISO 1000, plus a stack of 2 exposures, same specs, with the Kenko Softon filter to add the star glows, with the ground coming from one image to minimize blurring. All shots taken with the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Shot from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona.
A 360° panorama of the OzSky Star Safari 2014, at the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel near Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, taken April 1 2014. The centre of the Galaxy area in Scorpius and Sagittarius is rising just left of centre (east); the Southern Cross and Carina Nebula area is at the peak of the arch of the Milky Way, at their highest for the night (south); Canis Major is setting at right (west). The Magellanic Clouds are above the trees at centre. At upper left is Mars, a week away from opposition. The Gegenschein is visible as a diffuse glow just left of Mars, the brightest part of the Zodiacal Band which runs from the Milky Way and Antares up tp Mars then off the frame at upper left. The Dark Emu figure made of dark clouds in the Milky Way is almost all above the horizon with his head in the Coal Sack at top centre, and his neck and bodt running down the Milky Way to the left toward the horizon. This is a 6-section panorama with the Canon 60Da at ISO 3200 and 60 second exposures, untracked, with the 8mm fish-eye lens at f/3.5. Lighting and movement between segments produces some blending issues. But PTGui spliced the frames together very well and effortlessly. Taken after it had clouded over for a time then cleared, so some scopes had been covered up.
