As a beginner it is hard to choose an object in the sky to image, there are so many! Obviously, after a short time you realise M31 and M42 are one of the most common objects, thery are so prominent in the sky. Despite this challenge, being a beginner, an object that most people won't bother to look at anymore because there are so many pictures of them.
My attempt last night started with the plan to take 100 x 120s and then 60x 30s for the core (This was just a guess based on a single shot).
Unfortunately the moon was, of course, super bright, so my humble Optolong eNhance was sweating heavily.
Then the beginner's FOMO kicked in and another object came up behind the horizon and I stopped M42 after 61 frames.
Well, my plan then was to see Coma B area, but the Moonlight was just too terrible.
I decided to opt for M 51 after that, the result has still to be seen.
Patience is the hardest challenge in astrophotography, not polar alignment!
I hope you like and enjoy my version of M42, despite it's known so well and from a beginner!
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