The constellation of Orion is a favorite winter target for many astronomers. As autumn nights grow longer and colder, Orion’s distinctive belt rises, alerting us to the arrival of crisp winter skies. During the winter months, Orion dominates the night sky, offering a treasure trove of targets.
This region is home to some of the most iconic deep-sky objects, familiar to both amateur and seasoned astrophotographers. The Great Orion Nebula (M42), a vast stellar nursery, is one of the brightest nebulae visible to the naked eye. Just above the belt, the Flame Nebula glows with rich hydrogen emissions, while the dark tendrils of the Horsehead Nebula create a striking silhouette against the glowing backdrop of IC 434.
My latest image captures the breathtaking beauty of Orion’s Belt and Sword, and the expansive dust clouds that shroud the region. The Image below includes the annotations of the objects to be found.
The image was captured using a Samyang 135mm F/2.0 lens with the ZWO ASI071 pro MC camera. This combination of lens and camera gives a widefield of view allowing the rgiosn to be imaged in one frame.
Having a fast f 2.0 ratio means the optics are fast and allows in more light, however I step the lens down to F2.8 as I think this results in a slightly sharper image and lens artiact at the corner of the field.
The exposures were 180 seconds but seeing conditions were poor with scattered high level cloud. I captures a total of 4 hours data but had to cull this back to just 2 hours when I selected the best frames for inclusion.
Equipment:
Scope: 135 mm Samyang Lens
Camera: ZWO ASI 071 pro MC colour
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Guided Subs with an Orion 50mm guidescope and Old QHY5 mono cam.
Filter: IDAS light pollution filter in ZWO filter holder.
Processing: Stacked in DSS, Editted in Pixinsight, Final Tweaks: Lightroom.
Image:
Total Exposure: 2 Hours
Gain: 90
One Shot colour RGB.
This was first light for this setup and the first test of using N.I.N.A to control the scope and manage the imaging parameters. I was really impressed at how well the program worked and it have a very intuitive layout. I am pleased with the results and finally, was able to start imaging again after what feels like weeks of cloud and poor weather. I am looking forward to imaging more with this set up.