Messier Object 78
March 13, 2010
Photographer: Charles Lillo; Charles' web site
Summary Author: Charles Lillo
The majestic M78 nebula lies within the constellation of Orion and isn’t far (visually) from Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt. It’s an interesting and beautiful feature to image because of the all dark nebula surrounding the blue center of the main object. This bright, reflection nebula is approximately 16 light years away and is part of the Orion dust cloud complex. It shines in the reflected and scattered light of hot, blue stars. Photo taken from the Big Cypress National Preserve in the Florida Everglades on January 17, 2010.
Photo details: This image was acquired with a dedicated astrophotography camera (Starlight XPress SXV-H9C). It’s made up of twenty 10-minute exposures that were star aligned and staked using MaximDL imaging software. The final image was process using Photoshop and several very specific techniques to bring out the dark dust bands.