NGC1976 and NGC1977
The Orion and Running Man Nebulae

The Orion and Running Man Nebulae
Other names: NGC1976 (M42, Orion Nebula) / NGC1977 (Running Man Nebula)
Optics: Takahashi TOA-130F at f/7.5
Mount: Mountain Instruments MI-250/Gemini on ATS pier
Camera: Canon EOS 20D [ Hutech Type I ]
Exposure: 60 minutes [ 20 x 3 minutes ] at ISO 1600*
Accessories: Takahashi 35mm Flattener | Autoguided with piggybacked SV80S and ST-2000XM
Location: Landers, CA [ GMARS ]
Date November 18, 2006
Notes: Processing: Image acquisition, align, and combine with ImagesPlus v2.8. Levels, curves, and unsharp mask in Photoshop.

* In addition to the twenty 3 minute images, I took three 15 second images, and three 3 second images. These were averaged and added in as their own layers. Doing this allowed the Trapezium at the core of the nebula to remain visible while still displaying the fainter outer areas of the nebula. Also applied were 15 dark frames (median combined) and 3 flat frames, each 1/100th of a second (average combined).

This is one of two "first light" images for my Takahashi TOA-130F. The other was the Horsehead.

Here's an image of the same object taken with the SV80S a few weeks prior.

Click the image for a larger version (1800 x 1200, ~1.5 MB).