240301 Orion Constellation starscape with nebulosity

ASTRO: type=Starscape const=Orion dist=1344 ly (avg) size=31° IMAGE: location=EB Driveway BrtlCls=4 moon=41% WxCr exposure=CMOS OSC: 45x120s (1.5h), G100 EQUIPMENT: optics=NIKON 18-105mm DX kit zoom, FL=24mm, f/3.6 camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro filter=Optolong L-Pro LPS mount=Celestron AVX EQ guiding=(none) SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, APT processing=PixInsight (RCAstro), Photoshop (Lumenzia), LrC
without Constellation lines
with Constellation lines
Orion is a large and very prominent winter constellation located on the celestial equator, and therefore visible from throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. In one of the variations of this image, lines are artificially added to assist with finding the entire constellation. Unlike the starscape image, 150912 "Orion" constellation starscape, this one is comprised of many more sub-exposures of much longer duration, that have been stacked and integrated together, resulting in the nebulosity in the region becoming visible. The Great Orion, Horsehead, Angelfish, Boogieman, Casper Ghost, Monkey Head, and Rosette nebulae are all visible. The curved, semi-circular cloud is known as "Barnard's Loop" and is a supernova remnant. Even the very faint and mysterious Witch-head Nebula can be faintly seen just to the right of the blue, super giant star, Rigel. (The nebula is upside-down from its "normal" caricature orientation.) All of these features make Orion one of the most popular and sought-after areas of the nighttime sky for amateur astronomers in both observation and imaging disciplines. The constellation of Orion contains one (1) of only two (2) nebulae that are readily visible to the naked (unaided) eye from the northern hemisphere. (The other is the "Lagoon" nebula which is a summertime object.) The "Great Orion Nebula" is the bright, almost white "smudge" centered in the lower 1/2 of the image. In the winter months of December thru February, it is a favorite for nighttime observers of all skill levels because of the ease with which it can be spotted. This image was captured using a standard photographic camera lens having a very short focal length (and thus classified by most imagers as "wide-field"). This configuration enables the very large expanse of the entire constellation starscape to be included in the camera's field of view. Orion's apparent sky view size covers an area that is appx 31 arc-degrees long from top to bottom; roughly equivalent to a line of 62 full Moons.