M42/43 in Orion - The Great Orion Nebula
Emission nebula 
Uploaded 1/31/21

 

            
This new image consists
            of about 25 layers, each with increasing exposure time combined
            in a huge stack in Adobe Photoshop. Results with the HDR function
            was very bad, so I manually added layer by layer with masks to
            achieve this result. Many who have attempted this leave a bit
            dark hole in the center. The goal is to have a uniform average
            density as you move outward from the center, and not mask the
            beautiful pink colors of this enigmatic object.

            
Exposures ranged from
            1 second for the Trapezium in the center, to 30 minutes for the
            outer extensions. The rich blues on the outer periphery and brown
            dust on the extreme outer edges is apparent in this shot with
            the 10 inch.

            
Select an image size for a larger view:

1400 x 1200


Instrument:  10" f/3.9 Orion Astrograph Newtonian with Baader MPCC
Mount:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
Camera:  ZWO ASI071MC Pro Color CMOS
Guider: ZWO ASI mini  w/80mm piggyback refractor
Exposure:  60m total integration time (1sec to 5 min subs)
Location:  Payson, Arizona, Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing FWHM = 4 arcsec , Transparency 7/10
Outside Temperature:  25 F

Image Processing Tools: 
Maxim DL6:  Calibration, Color Conversion, aligning, stacking
PixInsight:  Saturation Curves
Photoshop CS2:  Curves, Color Correction, Gradient removal (Grad Xterminator), Cleanup

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