![[M42 - The Great Nebula in Orion]](redM42x.jpg)
10 minutes guided photograph of M42 - The Great Nebula in the "Sword" of the constellation Orion.
Combined with a 1 minute exposure to bring out details in the "Trapezium" region.
Slightly corrected to improve contrast and enhance color. Sharpness slightly enhanced with Photoshop "unsharp masking".
Taken in January 24 '04, 23:10 EST, from Mahogany Hammock, Everglades National Park, Florida, USA.
North is to the top, East to the left of the photograph made with a Canon EOS 10D DSLR camera at ISO 400 at the focus of a Meade 127ED 5" f/9 apochromatic refractor, F.L. 1,143 mm, on a Meade LXD650 German-equatorial telescope mount.
The image above is a reduced (1/4 size) and compressed JPG version of the original photograph.
Image Credits: Ashley Stevens.
The very bright stellar region near the center of the photograph is the "Trapezium", the stars that light up the nebula from within.
There are 4 bright stars forming the Trapezium, 2 of them have much dimmer companion stars.
These 6 stars are visible with a small telescope, about a dozen stars with a medium telescope.
![[The Winter Milky Way East of Orion]](WinterMilkyWayR2.jpg)
North is to the left, West to the top of the image, made with a Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera at ISO 800 and a Canon f/4L 17-40 mm zoom lens at 17 mm f/5.6, on a Meade LXD650 German-equatorial telescope mount.
The very bright star near the center of the image is Sirius, in Canis Major, the brightest star in the sky.
To the Northwest there are 3 aligned bright stars forming the "Belt" of Orion.
The "Sword", with M42 - The Great Nebula in Orion, can be seen to the South of it.
The orange star Betelgeuse can be seen to the Northeast of the "Belt", Bellatrix to the Northwest and Saiph to the Southeast
(Rigel, to the Southwest, is not shown).
To the Southeast of Betelgeuse and Northwest of Sirius is the bright "Rosette Nebula", in Monoceros.
To the Northeast of Sirius is the bright star Procyon, in Canis Minor.
To the South of Procyon and East of Sirius are the bright Open Clusters M46 and M47, in Puppis.
Photographic mosaic of the Winter Milky Way in Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Monoceros and Puppis;
4 frames of 10 minutes each,
taken in February 5 '08, around 23:30 EST, from West Summerland Key, Florida, during the "2008 Winter Star Party".
Sky conditions: clear, dark sky, good transparency.
The image above is a reduced (1/8 size) and compressed JPG version of the original mosaic.
Image Credits: Ashley Stevens and Andrés Valencia.
![[Rosette Nebula around NGC 2244]](rosette1.jpg)
50 minutes guided photograph of the Rosette Nebula around the Open Cluster NGC 2244, Mag. 4.8, in Monoceros.
Taken on February 6 '08, near 22:30, from West Summerland Key, Florida, during the "2008 Winter Star Party".
North is to the top, East to the left of the picture.
NGC 2244 is at RA 6h 32m 24s, Dec 4° 52'. The brightest star near the center is 12 Monocerotis, Mag. 5.88.
Taken with a Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera at ISO 800 at the focus of a Meade 127ED 5" f/9 apochromatic refractor, F.L. 1,143 mm,
on a Meade LXD650 German-equatorial telescope mount.
A stack of 5 frames of 10 min. each, for a total exposure of 50 min,
processed with Photoshop CS2 and Noise Ninja for noise reduction.
Image Credits: Ashley Stevens and Andrés Valencia.
Ashley Stevens is a member of the Southern Cross Astronomical Society (SCAS)
and the owner of PreciseParts - Custom Parts for Astronomy.
Websites with information on Meade telescopes:
Meade Advanced Products Users Group (MAPUG)
Websites with information on Canon digital cameras:
This page was updated in: February 27 '08
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Spanish: Astrofotografía con el refractor apocromático Meade 127ED y la Canon EOS 10D DSLR
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