Horsehead and Flame Nebula

I took the opportunity to start on something new last night and as the Orion constellation rises over the house at a decent time now, after fossicking about with M42 I decided to start on the Horsehead and flame nebula instead.

I failed to get any calibration frames but as I get more data I'll get them and have a go at getting some noise out of it... not to mention doing something about the big star.

20 x 180 sec pics @ 800iso, William Optics GT81, EOS1500D and an optolong L-Extreme filter.

Very nice start!

This is one of those places that just leave one in awe. A b&w photo of it Many! Years ago, was one of the hooks that lured me into astronomy.
Can’t wait for your later version.
Best,

thank you! Its a bit daunting starting a new target so I'm relieved I could squeeze this out from a small bit of data.

That's a great start. This region is so difficult to capture and process because of Alnitak, the "bright star", you mentioned. I'd love to share my one and only attempt at this target but I don't like hijacking other folks' threads. With your permission, I'll add it.

go for it SD!

xa-coupe wrote in post #19161905
go for it SD!

Thanks.
So here's my Ha monochrome version of the Horsehead. I don't remember the exact details but I'm pretty sure it was 60 minutes worth of 2 minute subs with calibration frames.
Explore Scientific ED127mm, ZWO 1600mm, Baader 7nm Ha filter.
I never got around to gathering more data. Maybe this winter?

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …i-rCVJjRV-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A

Every time I think I've decided to go OSC for my first dedicated astro camera someone shows a mono picture like this with way more detail, it's stunning.

Being in the southern hemisphere, this is a summer target for me but it disappears in February which isn't too bad as even at night it tends to be bl**dy hot.

Lovely-lovely-lovely-striking capture. !

Ha monochrome just can’t hardly be beat when done right on the right subjects. Shots like this make it easy for sales people to sell Astrophotography cameras.

Park Ranger wrote in post #19162791
Shots like this make it easy for sales people to sell Astrophotography cameras.

ain't that the truth.

xa-coupe wrote in post #19162743
Every time I think I've decided to go OSC for my first dedicated astro camera someone shows a mono picture like this with way more detail, it's stunning.

Being in the southern hemisphere, this is a summer target for me but it disappears in February which isn't too bad as even at night it tends to be bl**dy hot.

Thanks for the kind words. I had a trip planned to your lovely country this past May but of course, those plans were canceled because of the virus. I was so looking forward to seeing a different "universe" on the other side of the equator.

Should you make the journey down here, make sure you let me know so we can catch up.

xa-coupe wrote in post #19164437
Should you make the journey down here, make sure you let me know so we can catch up.

Absolutely! I'll need someone to point out the strange constellations to me!