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Approximately 1,600 light years away toward the constellation Orion is a vast emission nebula known as IC 434. It is located just below Alnitak, the left-most star in Orion's belt. This red glowing gas displays an intricate pattern of clouds and streamers, and part of it is obscured by the famous Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33), a dark region of dust and non-luminous gas. This image was exposed through a hydrogen-alpha filter to emphasize the nebula's details. |
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Equipment |
TMB-130SS APO refractor at f/7 on a Losmandy G-11 equatorial mount SBIG ST-8XM camera SBIG CFW-10 filter wheel with Astrodon filters Guiding: 60mm f/5 refractor and ST-402 camera Imaging and autoguiding with MaxIm DL 4.57 |
| Exposure |
Hydrogen-alpha:
1.5 hours (3 x 30 min.) unbinned @ -30°C |
| Processing |
Dark and flat frame reduction in CCDStack SD-combined in CCDStack Further processing in Photoshop CS |
| Date and Location |
28 & 18 December 2007 Montpelier, VA N 37° 49' 12", W 77° 42' 06" |