Tag: Orion

Orion in February

In a recent post I talked about a photo session in which I captured images of Orion using a wide-angle lens. My next goal was to use a telephoto lens to zoom in on specific areas. My first effort did not go well. It was cold and windy. My attempts to get the star tracker aligned were mostly unsuccessful — because of the cold and wind. And the lens I used (Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6) was too big and heavy for the tracking mount.

Flame Nebula and Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion with Star Removal.
Flame Nebula and Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion with Star Removal.
Flame Nebula and Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion.
Flame Nebula and Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion.

I tried again the next night and there was less wind–but it was still cold. This time I used the Nikon 180mm ƒ/2.8 ED AI-S manual focus lens. It is much lighter and easier to focus and it produces a very sharp image by the time it is stopped down to ƒ/4.0. My goal was to capture the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) and the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) plus one or more stars from Orion’s belt.

Both the Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula are in the constellation of Orion and are part of the much larger Orion molecular cloud complex. (Note: an amusing reference to the “Horace Head Nebula” appears in Isaac Asimov’s “The Stars, Like Dust“. Check it out!) The Flame Nebula is an emission nebula while the Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula.

I shot 73 one-minute exposures plus the usual assortment of darks, flats, and bias images. The images were stacked using Siril 1.4 with Star Reduction, histogram stretching using rnc-color-stretch, and finally post processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

The first image is the result with Star Reduction turned on; the second image is without Star Reduction. I like them both.

Nikon D850, Nikon 180mm ƒ/2.8 ED AI-S @ ƒ/4.0, ISO 400, 73 x 60 seconds.

Orion in January

One of my goals this month was to capture the constellation Orion using a wide angle lens. Several months ago I purchased the Tamron 35mm f/1.4 Di USD lens. This is a very good wide-angle lens for astrophotography because the stars remain sharp in the corners. I have written about this lens in a previous post.

Orion and neighboring gas clouds and nebula.
Orion and neighboring gas clouds and nebula.
Orion and neighboring gas clouds and nebula with labels.
Orion and neighboring gas clouds and nebula with labels.

A good reason to photograph Orion with a wide angle lens is the abundance of interesting objects that are near and surround Orion. These include the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, the Witch Head Nebula, Rosetta Nebula, Flame Nebula, and Barnards Loop, among others.

A screen shot from the Stellarium application showing Orion and the field of view with a 35° lens.
A screen shot from the Stellarium application showing Orion and the field of view with a 35° lens.

I shot 40 two-minute images (80 minutes total exposure) at f/2.8 and ISO 400 and then stacked them using Siril. I also ran a star reduction algorithm to remove some of the stars so that the gas clouds would be more visible. Here are the results of that astrophotography session.

Next I would like to use a large telephoto lens to zoom in on some of these objects. Now I just need to wait for the Moon to shift into the early morning hours.

Night Sky and Orion

These two images were taken a few months ago when the constellation Orion was in the eastern/southeastern sky. Both imaging sessions were tests of my recently acquired Nikon D850 and of the Siril software package.

Wide view of Orion and the surrounding Orion Molecular Dust Cloud.
Wide view of Orion and the surrounding Orion Molecular Dust Cloud.
The Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118) near the constellation Orion.
The Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118) near the constellation Orion.

The first was taken with a 50mm lens to show all of Orion as well as the neighboring features. The image is a stack of 32 frames @ 60 seconds, f4, ISO 1600, and shot on a Nikon D850. The images were processed in Siril–a tool I’m still learning to use–and the final result nicely shows the Orion molecular cloud complex (or, simply, the Orion complex). From the Wikipedia article:

The Orion complex includes a large group of bright nebulae and dark clouds in the Orion constellation. Several nebulae can be observed through binoculars and small telescopes, and some parts (such as the Orion Nebula) are visible to the naked eye.

The second image was taken a few nights later with a 180mm telephoto lens and is looking at the Witchhead Nebula (IC 2118), located very near Orion–and is also faintly visible in the previous image.  This image is a stack of 38 frames @ 60 seconds, f4, ISO 1600, and shot on a Nikon D850. As before, the stack of images was processed in Siril. From Wikipedia:

IC 2118 is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion.

I have been happy with the results on the Nikon D850 for capturing astro images and equally pleased with how easy it is to use Siril in post processing.

Edit: Fixed blockquote formatting

Objects in the Evening Sky––March 2023

There have been multiple opportunities to photograph planets and other objects in the evening sky during the month of March. Previously I posted photos of four planets and an asteroid in the western sky during twilight using a 24mm wide angle lens.

Orion Nebula (M42).
Orion Nebula (M42).

I tried to capture the four planets again later in the month but was foiled by the bright twilight making it difficult to see the planets that were close to the horizon. So I shifted my strategy and chose to capture just two planets–Venus and Uranus–that were close to each other and high enough above the horizon to not be troubled by twilight. These images were shot with my Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E lens.

Venus and Uranus in the evening sky (28 March 2023).
Venus and Uranus in the evening sky (28 March 2023).

I then turned the camera on the Orion Nebula (M42) to see how well this lens would work on long exposures. The results weren’t too bad–but not great. It will take some practice on my part to get sharp focus and reduce shake and vibration on the tripod and star tracker.

Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)

A faint comet is currently moving through the sky in the constellation Orion. Unfortunately, it is too dim (mag. +8) to seen by the unaided eye but binoculars, a small telescope, or most digital cameras will be adequate to see it.

Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) moving through the constellation Orion.
Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) moving through the constellation Orion.

As the comet was moving near the belt of Orion I captured about one hours worth of exposures and then did the typical stacking using Deep Sky Stacker. Post processing was done with rnc-color-stretch.

The comet is located to the right and slightly below the belt of Orion. The future path of the comet can be found at in-the-sky.org.