The NGC1973-77 Reflection Nebula

The "Running Man Nebula in Orion"

Uploaded 1/25/05

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 This object provides a challenge in composition. The main bright portion is not central to the object, and by offsetting the cluster to the lower right, the field I wanted was obtained, with the large blue loop on the right well framed. This was an experiment to see what could be captured in color in only 15 minutes at ASA1600. The camera did well, and the noise was low for a non cooled camera.

Object Description: The very loose splashy open cluster in which the nebula surrounds is NGC1977, a 20 arcminute in size object around 5th magnitude. The blue reflection nebulosity is NGC1973 and NGC1977. They surround the cluster and is more than half a degree across. My field is 1 degree diagonally, and they must be referring to the brightest parts for size. The dark man shaped bay inside the nebula is the Running Man. It is more plum colored than the blue of the nebula itself.

Instrument: 12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian Platform: Astrophysics 1200 QMD Camera: Canon 10D Exposure: 3 x 5m Filters: None Location: Payson, Arizona Elevation: 5150 ft. Sky: Seeing 8/10, Transparency 8/10 Outside Temperature: 5 C Processing Tools: Photoshop CS, PixInsight HOME GALAXIES EMISSION NEBS REFLECTION NEBS COMETS GLOBULARS OPEN CLUST PLANETARIES LINKS FastCounter by bCentral