Starry Vistas by Don J. McCrady
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M42 - The Great Orion Nebula

False Colour Narrowband

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The Great Orion Nebula (M42) is a true showpiece in the night sky. It is easily visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch in the sword of Orion, and is a beautiful sight in telescopes of all sizes. It lies fairly close to our part of the galaxy, lying some 1500 light years distant. The center portion contains a tight grouping of stars called the Trapezium. M43 lies just above the Trapezium region, and another bright reflection nebula called The Running Man Nebula is near the top of this frame.

This image is a false colour was taken through the narrowband filters Sulfur II, Hydrogen-alpha, and Oxygen III, mapped respectively to red, green, and blue.

Takahashi Sky 90 at f/4.5
SBIG STL-4020M (self-guided)
Takahashi EM-200
H-Alpha: 2h20m (20 minute subexposures)
Processed with Maxim/DL, CCDStack, and Photoshop CS4
Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools


H-alpha Enhanced RGB

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This image is a blend of RGB data with Hydrogen-Alpha data. The RGB was blended with the H-alpha to form an artificial luminance layer, and the H-alpha was blended into the red channel of the colour layer.

The blue channel is very weak in this image due to a thin layer of clouds that rolled in.  Only 10 minutes was usable.

Takahashi Sky 90 at f/4.5
SBIG STL-4020M (self-guided)
Takahashi EM-200
Hutech LPS filter
H-Alpha: 2h20m (20 minute subexposures)
RGB: 25m, 35m, 10m (5 minute subexposures)
Processed with Maxim/DL and Photoshop CS3
Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools


H-Alpha (6nm)

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Takahashi Sky 90 at f/4.5
SBIG STL-4020M (self-guided)
Takahashi EM-200
Hutech LPS Filter
H-alpha: 2:20 (20 minute subs)
Processed in Maxim/DL and Photoshop
Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools Actions


M42 in RGB with Digital Rebel

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M42 in RGB with Digital Rebel

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Early Attempts with a Webcam

M42

M42