M78 (NGC 2068)

Image Title: M78 (NGC 2068)

Copyright: Drew Evans

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

Image Description and Details: Messier 78 is located in the constellation Orion, at a distance of 1400 light years away from Earth. This is the first time I have imaged this object and always seems to be ignored among the other great objects in the Orion constellation. M78 is best viewed during winter, is magnitude 8.3 brightness, and can be viewed with binoculars just above Orion's belt.

Messier 78 is primarily a reflection nebula, which means it is composed of interstellar dust that reflects the light of nearby stars, thus creating its unique glow. Within M78, over 40 young stars less than a million years old have been identified, making it a stellar nursery where new stars are being formed. The nebula's blue tint is characteristic of reflection nebulae and is due to the scattering, or reflection, of shorter blue wavelengths of light by the dust particles.

Equipment Details: OTA: Sharpstar SCA260
Mount: iOptron CEM120
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Gain: 100
Cooling Temperature: -10 degrees celsius

Filters:
Chroma Red 300s x 228 = 19 hrs
Chroma Green 300s x 206 = 17.2 hrs
Chroma Blue 300s x 203 = 17 hrs
53 hours total acquisition time

Auto-guiding: ZWO ASI174MM Mini and ZWO OAG-L
Auto-focusing: ZWO EAF
Control: ZWO ASIAIR Pro

Calibrated in Astro Pixel Processor with flats, darks and dark flats. Processed in Pixinsight. Thanks to Jeff Horne for some core magic!

Imaged from Flagstaff, Arizona in class 2 Bortle skies.

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