Orion Nebula
Dec 21, 2020
Orion Nebula
| Other names | M42, NGC 1976, Sh 2-281 |
| Type | Diffuse Nebula |
| Distance | 1,344 ly |
| Size | 24 ly |
| Location | Orion |
| Captured | Dec 21, 2020 |
| Capture type | Broadband |
| Total time | ~1.5 hours |
| Frames | |
| Telescope | Orion 6" Newt F/3.8 Astrograph |
| Camera | Sony a6300 |
| Tripod | Orion Atlas EQ-G |
Orion Nebula
Not everyone spends their Christmas editing a photo of Orion’s Nebula (m42) but I do!
This is one of the most well known nebulas and probably the most photographed. It’s M42, or Orion’s Nebula. It’s one of the brightest nebula in the night sky and easily the most colorful with natural vision. You can find it in the Orion constellation just below the belt if you follow the stars that make up his sword sheath.
It’s a small young nebula near us, only being 12 light-years wide and 1,344 light-years distant.
As a bonus in this image you can actually see a second nebula too! The running man nebula is the blue nebula in the top left.