The Horsehead Nebula (Close-up)
Copyright 2001 Hap Griffin
This is the famous "Horsehead" Nebula in Orion, extremely hard to see visually, but fairly easily captured in photos. The Horsehead shape is a peculiarly shaped cloud of dust known as B33 which is obscuring the wispy red emission nebula in the background, IC 434. Actually, IC 434 is part of a much larger complex of red glowing gas extending through much of the entire Orion constellation.
This picture is an enlargement of a portion of the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae photo elsewhere in this gallery.
Date/Location:
December 20, 2000 Griffin/Hunter
Observatory Bethune, SC
Instrument: Meade f6.3 10" LX-200
Focal Ratio: Approx. f4 (utilizing focal reducer in GEG)
Guiding: Manual - Lumicon GEG
Conditions: Visually clear, but with moderate high level water
vapor
Weather: COLD! (20 F), Light breeze
Film: Kodak Elite Chrome 200
Exposure: 1 x 30 minutes
Filters: None
Processing: Finished in Photoshop 5 and BGSmooth (5,30 on
original 2700dpi work image)