The Flame Nebula, the Horsehead Nebula, and the reflection Nebula NGC 2023 all make an appearance in this image, taken under darker skies at Abiquiu Lake, NM. Equipment: SBIG STF-8300c Software Bisque MyT Mount Stellarvue SVQ100 580mm f/5.8 Astrograph Refractor Software: Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.8 Lightroom CC Light Frames: 13 x 720 secs (2 hrs 36 mins) Dark Frames: 6 x 720 secs (1 hr 12 mins) Other Frames: 30 Bias No Flats Object Details from Wikipedia: The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 ) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion.[1] The nebula is located just to the south of the star Alnitak, which is farthest east on Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The nebula was first recorded in 1888 by Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming on photographic plate B2312 taken at the Harvard College Observatory. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of the shape of its swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, which bears some resemblance to a horse's head when viewed from Earth. The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500 light-years away. The bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori), the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, shines energetic ultraviolet light into the Flame and this knocks electrons away from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the glow results when the electrons and ionized hydrogen recombine. Additional dark gas and dust lies in front of the bright part of the nebula and this is what causes the dark network that appears in the center of the glowing gas. The Flame Nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula. NGC 2023 (also known as LBN 954) is a reflection nebula located in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter).
The famous Messier pair of galaxies M81 and M82 appear together in this image taken with a 580mm refractor. M81, Bode's Galaxy, a grand spiral design galaxy, dominates the center of the frame, while M81, the Cigar Galaxy, shines to the left. Both galaxies show a significant Ha signal in this longer integration image. Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM-C Camera @ -20C and Gain:139 Offset:21 Software Bisque MyT Mount Stellarvue SVQ100 Astrograph Refractor, 580mm @ f/5.8 Software: Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.8 Lightroom CC Photoshop CC Light Frames: Luminance: 100 x 90 secs (2 hrs 30 mins) Red: 40 x 120 secs (1 hr 20 mins) Green: 41 x 120 secs (1 Hr 22 mins) Blue: 46 x 120 secs (1 Hr 32 mins) Ha: 24 x 300 secs (2 Hrs) 8 hrs 42 mins total Dark Frames: 20 x 60 secs (20 mins) Bias Frames 60 Flat Frames 20 each filter Additional Details from Wikipedia: Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away, with a diameter of 90,000 light years, about half the size of the Milky Way, in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M☉[5] supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. A member of the M81 Group, it is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and has a center one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center.[7] The starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81. As the closest starburst galaxy to Earth, M82 is the prototypical example of this galaxy type.
A stupendous string of galaxies stretches across the sky in the direction of Virgo, part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. Containing Messier objects as well as many NGC objects, the group was named after Astrophysicist Benjamain Markarian, who discovered their common motion. Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM-C Camera @ -20C and Gain:139 Offset:21 Software Bisque MyT Mount Stellarvue SVQ100 Astrograph Refractor, 580mm @ f/5.8 Software: Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.8 Lightroom CC Photoshop CC Light Frames: Luminance: 188 x 60 secs (3 hrs 8 mins) Red: 76 x 60 secs (1 hr 16 mins) Green: 70 x 60 secs (1 Hr 10 mins) Blue: 80 x 60 secs (1 Hr 20 mins) 6 hrs 38 mins total Dark Frames: 20 x 60 secs (20 mins) Bias Frames 30 Flat Frames 20 each filter
