M42 - Great Orion Nebula

M42 - Great Orion Nebula

This picture has actually two nebula's.  The larger nebula to the right is the Orion Nebula and the blue nebula to the left is called "Running Man Nebula".  Orion is located in the Orion Constellation.  There are three stars that form the sword or dagger of Orion.  The central star is actually this nebula.  It is the brightest and most famous nebula in the night sky.  It can easily be seen by the unaided eye.  Orion is the birth place of stars.  It has three bright stars in it's center, which light up the nebula.  It is believed to the creating new stars in the bright core.

The next picture is taken of the center of The Great Orion Nebula in false color.  The red represents the element SII, green represents Ha, and Blue represents OIII.

Date:  11-28-03

Telescope: RC10.0 (.75x)       Camera:ST8XE                

Exposure Time: RGB 25min;25min;25min; 2x2bin

Processing: Maxim,reduced, DDP, Adobe combined