EarthSky Community Photos

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Steven Bellavia
Southold, NY
01/08/2024
11:00 pm

Equipment Details:

TSO-115, f/7 triplet refractor
ZWO ASI 294MM Pro Camera
SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro mounbt

Post-processing Details:

330 minutes total L-RGB data
calibrated, aligned and stacked in PixInsight
Post-processed in PixInsight and Canon Digital Photo Professional

Image Details:

M78 (NGC 2068) not far from the Easternmost (left) star of Orion's belt, Alnitak, is one of my favorite objects to observe and to image.
M78 is the brightest reflection nebula in our sky.
Two B-type stars, HD 38563 A and HD 38563 B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light.

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