The Horsehead nebula (IC 434) is a bright emission nebula in the constellation Orion the hunter approximately 1,500 light years away.
It was discovered in 1786 by William Herschel.
The Horsehead itself is a dark nebula surrounded by emission nebula.
The reddish glow surrounding the dark dust clouds of the horsehead is hydrogen gas ionized by the bright star Sigma Orionis.
Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula’s base are young stars just in the process of forming.
The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) is illuminated by the bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori), the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion.
In 1819 it was discovered to be a double star by amateur German astronomer George K. Kunowsky and is estimated to be up to 33 times as massive as our Sun and a diameter 20 times greater.
It’s approximately 21,000 times brighter than our Sun.
Equipment:
- Vixen AX103S 103mm f/8.0 ED Apochromatic Refractor telescope.
- Avalon Linear Fast Reverse Mount.
- QSI 683 CCD camera, Kodak KAF-8300 8.3 mega-pixel sensor cooled to -25 °C.
- Astronomik L-RGB, Astrodon 5nm Ha and Astrodon 3nm Oiii filters.
Image exposure (8+ hours in total):
- 14 x 20 min Ha.
- 14 x 300sec red.
- 14 x 300sec green.
- 14 x 300sec blue.
