Orion's Sword

This image shows: M42 (The Great Orion Nebula or NGC 1976) - M43 (de Marian’s Nebula or NGC 1982) - NGC 1977 (The Running Man) - NGC 1981 (Open Cluster).

M42 was first discovered by a Mr Fabri de Peiresc in 1610. Galileo studied the region shortly afterwards and discovered the Trapezium star cluster that is embedded within M42. The region is one of star birth, where dust & gas aggregates together to form new stars & perhaps planets too. The red colouration is due to ionised hydrogen (H alpha emissions) whilst the blue colours are due to large type O stars that illuminate the surrounding dust. There is also a slight green tinge and this is due to the ionisation of Oxygen.

Image Data:
Focal Length 500mm
Focal Ratio f4.5
Exposure 1hr 20mins

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