A bright broadband target with glowing gas, dark lanes, and the Trapezium region at the core.
This frame remains part of the Lost Photons archive.
- What am I looking at?
- The Orion Nebula is a bright stellar nursery where new stars are forming inside glowing gas and dust, including the Trapezium cluster at its core.
- How far away is it?
- About 1,344 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Orion's sword, below the famous Belt stars.
- Why does it matter?
- The closest massive star-forming region and one of the best-studied nebulae in the sky.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Winter nights when Orion dominates the southern sky.
Capture summary
Nebula in Orion
12 Dec 2020 / Moon 7%
HDR broadband
Winter target / wide composition
- L-eXtreme 58m 12 Dec 2020 / Moon 7%
- Totals 58m 12 Dec 2020 / Moon 7%
When to image this target
Nebula in Orion; best planned for December through February from New Jersey.
Winter targets reward clear, steady nights and usually climb well by late evening.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
M42 is listed here in Orion.
Current frame: Natural color / HDR broadband.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame. View on AstroBin.
- L-eXtreme 58m, 12 Dec 2020, Moon 7%
- Totals 58m, 12 Dec 2020, Moon 7%
How I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| L-eXtreme | — | 58m | 7% |
| Totals | — | 58m | 7% |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
