Winter Stargazing in Orion

winter stargazing

Winter Stargazing
M42 & M43, The Orion Nebula (& Running Man)

Imaged Friday, Nov 29, 2013 from Ontario, Canada.

Camera Equipment and Settings:

  • Telescope: Explore Scientific ED80 with WO Flat III 0.8x FR/FF
  • Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro Synscan
  • Guiding: Meade DSI Pro II and PHD Guiding
  • Guide Scope: Orion Mini 50mm
  • Camera: Canon EOS 450D (Stock)
  • ISO: 1600
  • Exposure: 2 hours (30 x 240s)
  • Processing Software: Calibration and Stacking in DeepSkyStacker, Levels/Curves/Enhancements in Photoshop CC
  • Support Files: 15 darks

Explore Scientific ED80

View my Complete Astrophotography Equipment Setup,

Winter Stargazing in Orion

The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula, south of Orion’s Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae in the night sky. It is clearly visible in binoculars, even from light-polluted city skies like the one in my backyard. This nebula is well-photographed by amateurs and pros alike.

It was one of the first objects I ever photographed through a telescope, and I still remember my reaction when I saw what appeared on my camera screen.

As a matter of fact, I kept one of the very first images I took of Orion back in 2010 with my Canon Powershot Point-and-shoot camera…

My first image of a nebula with a point and shoot camera

One of my first astrophotography images – M42 – The Orion Nebula

The Orion constellation is probably the most gratifying constellation in the sky to photograph. The powerful figure of Orion the Hunter is so prominent, it makes you think of all of the other people who stared up at him in wonder for thousands of years.

Here is an image of the constellation I took from my parent’s backyard as Orion rose over the neighbor’s fence. As luck would have it, there was even a meteorite that came streaking by during the shot!

The Orion Constellation

I haven’t posted in a while. My excuse is a combination of cloudy skies, switching hosting services, and of course, the holidays. The image above was the last time I have been able to gather enough photons to create a decent photo.

The weather has been pretty miserable, constant clouds with lots of precipitation and very, very cold! (Last night was -38°C with the windchill!)

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