Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Orion (Ori)  ·  Contains:  B33  ·  Flame Nebula  ·  Horsehead nebula  ·  IC 434  ·  LBN 953  ·  LBN 954  ·  NGC 2023  ·  Orion B  ·  Sh2-277
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Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023, Barry Wilson
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Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023, Barry Wilson
Powered byPixInsight

Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023

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Acquisition details

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Description

Steve and I set out to collect a lot of data on this target with the hope to provide a deep dive into the sumptuous detail of this icon image, one that has resonated in my mind since childhood with half-remembered photographs from books like The Observers Book of Astronomy by Patrick Moore.  We had collected a handful of subs last year but weather and other projects frustrated the acquisition.  So I have looked forward to processing this target and have relished this afternoon's processing.

I have used GHS in PixInsight along with Star Xterminator to aid control of the stars and to extract the detail in the Ha and luminance, especially in NGC 2023 with its fascinating ribbons of emissions.  The TEC 140 has "almost" controlled Alnitak (LOL!) and I have left in the light ray streaming in from the left of the frame . . . I had little option really as I'm sure I would have made a mess of trying to disguise or reduce their effect.  I still have to delve into PS and I'm sure there are techniques I could use to ameliorate the rays. It adds authenticity I'm telling myself anyway. Please enjoy the full resolution and detail from this marvellous 5.5" refractor.

There were a few blends of images to enhance detail using a mixture of the image blending mode in the GHS script and also PixelMath with protective masks (of various sorts, from single pixel values to isolated stars and nebula). Only a minor amount of NR and star reduction; some contrast curves and, et voilà, the finished image.From Wikipedia: "The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion.[2] The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630, along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434.[3 The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 422 parsecs or 1,375 light-years from Earth.[1][3] It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse's head.[4] The dark cloud of dust and gas is a region in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex where star formation is taking place. It is located in the constellation of Orion, which is prominent in the winter evening sky in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer evening sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Colour images reveal a deep-red colour that originates from ionised hydrogen gas () predominantly behind the nebula, and caused by the nearby bright star Sigma OrionisMagnetic fields channel the gases, leaving the nebula into streams, shown as foreground streaks against the background glow.[8] A glowing strip of hydrogen gas marks the edge of the enormous cloud, and the densities of nearby stars are noticeably different on either side. Heavy concentrations of dust in the Horsehead Nebula region and neighbouring Orion Nebula are localized into interstellar clouds, resulting in alternating sections of nearly complete opacity and transparency.[9] The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust blocking the light of stars behind it.[10] The lower part of the Horsehead's neck casts a shadow to the left.[11] The visible dark nebula emerging from the gaseous complex is an active site of the formation of "low-mass" stars. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming.

Data acquisition: Barry Wilson & Steve Milne
Processing: Barry Wilson

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  • Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023, Barry Wilson
    Original
  • Final
    Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023, Barry Wilson
    B

B

Description: Brighter image

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Horsehead Nebula & NGC 2023, Barry Wilson

In these public groups

Entre Encinas y Estrellas (e-EyE)