Object info

The Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33 (dark nebula) in IC 434 (bright nebula) can be found in the Orion constellation. It lies at approximately 1.500 light years from Earth, and is approx. 3.5 light years wide. The red glow comes from hydrogen gas mostly behind the nebula which is ionized by the bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars which are in the process of forming.

Processing

DSLRFocus was used for focussing. All separate frames were calibrated, aligned and stacked in ImagesPlus 2.8. "Dynamic Background Extraction" (DBE) was done in PixInsight. Photoshop CS2 was used for further processing - curves adjustment, levels adjustment, etc.

Comments

This image is reaching the limits of what can be done on such a red nebula with an unmodified DSLR.

Previous versions

Jan 23, 2006 - 722 x 541 Pixel (164 kB)
Optics : Orion 80/600 ED + Baader UHC-S
Mount : OTE150 + Canon 350D
Exposure : 16 x 300 sec @ ISO1600 = 1h 20m