The Horsehead Nebula, captured from GrandMesaObservatory.com in Purdy Mesa, Western Colorado using the Holloway Takahashi 130 FSQ and QHY367C Full Frame CMOS camera.
I acquired the data in Color + H-Alpha, OIII and SII over 4 nights, processed here are versions in RGB, HaRGB with Ha mapped to red channel and also used as Luminance layer, H-Alpha only and finally a Hubble Palette version with SII, Ha and OIII data mapped respectively to the R, G and B channels to create a Hubble Palette (SHO) rendering.
Total Integration time 20.5 hours
I have also created a video from these images which can be seen on YouTube here:
youtu.be/Y2v8ke2aPLwOther versions here:
RGB
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/45298062564/in/datepos...HaRGB
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/31083362097/in/photost...Hubble Palette
www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/31083362747/in/photost...Image capture details
By Terry Hancock
Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado
Dates: over 4 night 10/20, 10/21, 10/25 and 11/6 2018
Color 390 min, 39 x 600 sec
H-Alpha 315 min, 21 x 900 sec
OIII 270 min, 18 x 900 sec
SII 255 min, 17 x 900 sec
Camera: QHY367C
Offset 76, Gain 2850 Calibrated with flat, Dark & Bias
Optics: Holloway Takahashi FSQ130 APO Refractor
Filters by Chroma (Narrowband are 5nm)
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL5
Pre Processed in Pixinsight
Post Processed in Photoshop
The setup I used is System 1 and one of 3 telescopes currently available through Grand Mesa Observatory’s Subscription services
grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment-rentals/Less than one hundred light years from the Orion Nebula lies the aptly named Horsehead Nebula, another outcropping of the Orion Molecular Cloud and one of the most recognizable assemblies in the heavens. Whereas the Orion Nebula generates enough light to be visible to the unaided eye, the Horsehead has a far lower surface brightness and presents a challenge to visual observers even with large telescopes. But it’s a delight for astrophotographers and arm chair stargazers.
The Horsehead complex lies just south of the brilliant blue supergiant star Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion’s Belt and just north of the Orion Nebula. The glowing reddish-pink region in the background is cataloged by astronomers as IC 434. Like the Orion Nebula, IC 434 is an emission nebula. It’s powered by the blazing-hot star Sigma Orionis, just south of Alnitak. Much of the nebula is permeated by tenuous streaks caused by magnetic fields in the region. This extract from The Armchair Astronomer by Brian Ventrudo and Terry Hancock
The book is available in multi-media format from Apple’s iBooks store, in high-resolution PDF format, and in standard e-book format from Amazon’s Kindle store.
cosmicpursuits.com/astronomy-courses-and-e-books/armchair...
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