The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex

I've been working on shooting things at a larger scale to capture complete constellations. First with my work on my William Optics Star 71, and now with my Canon 100mm. Completed with a Gerd Neumann Filter Drawer system, I've been able to pair with with my ATIK 383 CCD camera. The scale is impressive. Here, I’ve framed the entire Orion Constellation in 9 panels with over 1280 individual light, dark, flat, and bias frames. This mosaic reveals the majestic Barnard Loop surrounding the belt stars, the Horsehead Nebula, the Witch Head Nebula, The Angelfish Nebula, and the Great Orion Nebula.

from wiki-

"The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex (or, simply, the Orion Complex) is a large group of bright nebulae, dark clouds, and young stars in the Orion constellation. The cloud is between 1 500 and 1 600 light-years away, and hundreds of light-years across. Several parts of the nebula can be observed through binoculars and small telescopes, and some parts (such as the Orion Nebula) are visible to the naked eye.

The nebula is important because of its sheer size, as it spreads several degrees from Orion's Belt to his sword. It is also one of the most active regions of stellar formation visible in the night sky, and is home to both protoplanetary discs and very young stars. The nebula is bright in infrared wavelengths due to the heat-intensive processes involved in the stellar formation, though the complex contains dark nebulae, emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, and H II regions."

Integration:

Ha- 20 x 9

L - 10 x 9

R - 10 x 9

G - 10 x 9

B - 10 x 9

Matching dark frames

20 Flat Frames

20 Bias Frames

Equipment:

Canon 100mm Macro Lens

Atik 383L + Mono

Astronomic Ha 6nm fitler

Astro-Physics Mach 1

Gerd Neumann Filter system

Software:

Capture in Sequence Generator Pro

Calibration in Pixinsight

Edit levels and export in Photoshop

Captured in Cleveland Tennessee, Chattanooga Tn, and Fall Creek Falls State Park