M42 - The Great Orion Nebula

[Buzzard75]

Is everyone M42'd out yet?

I'm just now getting around to it due to weather and other personal conflicts. In reality, it's actually been a couple of years since I've imaged it. This image has been a long time coming for me. Orion was the first object I ever attempted to image. I used a cellphone through the eyepiece of my 12" Orion dob. The image was honestly terrible (it is actually the one set as my profile picture), but I was still amazed at what I was able to see using my phone that my eye could not. There was actually color and a bit more detail. That's when my astrophotography journey started. I imaged Orion a few more times since then, but I never really did it justice. Over the last couple of years though, I have not only slightly improved my equipment, but I have significantly improved my capture and processing techniques. I spent 6-7 hours capturing data and at least another 24-36 hours processing all of that data. While the object is bright, it is a difficult one to process to bring out the fine details of the nebula and surrounding gas and dust and still not blow out the core too much. It was one of the most difficult images I have worked on to date. I can't say I'll never image Orion again, but I can finally mark it off my list having given it the attention that it deserves. Enjoy!

ZWO ASI183MM Pro
William Optics Redcat 51
ZWO ASI290MM guide camera
ZWO Mini guide scope
iOptron CEM40EC
Chroma Ha(3nm) and LRGB 31mm filters
Ha 42x30s, 39x300s
L  21x15s, 22x90s
R 20x15s, 21x30s, 20x60s
G 21x15s, 21x30s, 18x60s
B 21x15s, 21x30s, 20x60s
Just shy of 6hrs total integration (5hr59m15s to be exact)
Captured with APT
Processed in Pixinsight and Photoshop

[saac]

Wow that is an amazing amount of detail.  I love your colour balance, looks very natural  

Jim 

[Buzzard75]

1 minute ago, saac said:

Wow that is an amazing amount of detail.  I love your colour balance, looks very natural  

Jim 

Thank you kindly! I know colors and saturation are a personal preference. Mine is always to try and keep it as natural as possible.