Flying to the Horsehead - An animation I made with DaVinci Resolve with one of my images of the Horsehead nebula in IC434.
Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 + ZWO ASI585MC Pro + HyperStar.
300mm, f2, 120 exposures of 60’’.
#telescope #telescopes #celestron #celestrontelescope #celestronnexstar #nexstarevolution #nexstarevolution6 #zwo #zwoasi #zwoasi585mc #astro #astrophoto #astrophotos #astrophotography #astrophotographer #spacephotography #astronomy #spaceexploration #nasa #universe #space #deepsky #deepspace #nebula #horsehead #horseheadnebula #b33 #barnard33 #ic434 #ngc2023

After getting 4 hours on the Horsehead Nebula in December, my grandpa decided to collect some more data on it, bringing it to a total of 9 hours of data! The extra data really brings out the faint dust around the red cloud of ionized hydrogen, adding a lot of depth to the photo. I also really like how this image is rotated as it makes the image look more dramatic.

137x240s lights, flats, darks, and biases stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, edited in Siril, and noise reduction applied in Adobe Lightroom mobile.
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IC 434/Barnard 33
Celestron EdgeHD 8" (Scope), Celestron CGEM-II (Mount)
ZWO 294MC Pro (Main), ZWO 224MC Color (Guide)
Jefferson, WI (Bortle 4.5)
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#horsehead #nebula #ic434 #barnard33 #astrophotography #highpointscientific #zwo #294mcpro #zwo294mcpro #adobelightroom #dss #deepskystacker #siril #photography #horse #jefferson #jeffersonwi #jeffersonwisconsin #wisconsin

Last week I wanted to image another nebula before galaxy season starts, but there was only had one night with a few hours that were clear, so I figured I would go after Orion that night since it was pretty bright and would look good with only 2 hours on it (second image). But after processing the data from that night, it looked so good that I completely changed my plans and continued to image it for another two nights to get as much data as I could on it, and I’m so glad I did!

359x60s lights (5.98 hours), darks, flats, and biases stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, edited in Siril, and noise reduction applied in Adobe Lightroom mobile.
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Horsehead Nebula (IC 434)
Meade RB-70 (Scope), SkyWatcher GTi (Mount)
Stock Canon Rebel T4i (Main), Optolong L-eNhance (Filter)
Bloomington, Minnesota (Bortle 8)
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#highpointscientific #nebula #horsehead #horseheadnebula #ic434 #skywatcher #gti #meade #telescope #astrophotography #astronomy #siril #deepskystacker #adobelightroom #lightroom #adobelightroommobile #jefferson #jeffersonwisconsin #jeffersonwi #wi #wisconsin #bortle5 #dss

Earlier this month I got two clear nights, the first for a while after this Winter, and continued to add to my 2 hours of data I had previously captured in December. I gathered another 7 hours, but due to backlash and wind, I ended up getting rid of about 2 hours. But I still got a respectable 7.15 hours, and the final image turned out fantastic!

286x90s lights, darks, flats, and biases stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, edited in Siril, and noise reduction applied in Adobe Lightroom mobile
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Horsehead Nebula (IC 434)
Meade RB-70 (Scope), SkyWatcher GTi (Mount)
Stock Canon Rebel T4i (Main), Optolong L-eNhance (Filter)
Bloomington, Minnesota (Bortle 8)
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#highpointscientific #nebula #horsehead #horseheadnebula #ic434 #skywatcher #gti #meade #telescope #astrophotography #astronomy #siril #deepskystacker #adobelightroom #lightroom #adobelightroommobile #jefferson #jeffersonwisconsin #jeffersonwi #wi #wisconsin #bortle5 #dss

Orions Belt
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Orion’s Belt is a well-known asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. These stars are more formally known as Zeta (ζ), Epsilon (ε), and Delta (δ) Orionis, respectively. The belt is one of the most easily recognizable asterisms in the night sky, being far more noticeable than the Big Dipper. The stars are more or less evenly spaced in a straight line, and so can be visualized as the belt of the hunter’s clothing.

The area around Alnitak with the Flame and Horse Head Nebulae is a classic target for astrophotographers, but I tried to put it into a bit more context, also highlighting the lighter dust regions between Alnilam and Mintaka.

The iconic Horse Head Nebula is a dark nebula roughly 1.500 light years from earth, consisting of a swirling cloud of gas and dust resembling the shape of a horse’s head.

Scope: Askar 103APO
Lens: Askar 0.6x Reducer
Camera: Canon EOS 6Da
Filter: Antlia TriBand RGB Ultra
Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT
Guiding: Svbony SV165 Guide Scope with ZWO ASI 224MC
Controller: ZWO ASIAir Pro

Integration time: 3hrs 35min

Full version and print available at: https://adfr.io/astro/20250121_ic434

#astrophotography #astrophoto #astrophotographer #deepsky #deepskyphotography #deepskyobject #deepskyastrophotography #horseheadnebula #flamenebula #ic434