M42

M42 also know as "The Great Nebula in Orion" is one of the most viewed and photographed objects in the night sky. M42, in the constellation of Orion is the brightest nebula in our sky and is visible to the naked eye as the middle fuzzy star-like object in Orion's Sword. At its core is a nest of star birth activity, which excites the atoms in the surrounding hydrogen cloud to the point of luminescence.

M42 is approximately 1500 light-years from Earth and about 15 light years across.

Recent images from the Hubble Space Telescope of this region have revealed many stars in various stages of formation. The HST images have also revealed proto-planetary disks around many of the young stars which further verify the theories of planetary formation around stars.

Image capture and processing information:

Date/Location: February 18, 2007 Lake Sonoma, Sonoma County, California
Instrument: SBIG ST-2000XCM through an Orion 6 inch Newtonian reflector
Focal Ratio: f5.0
Guiding: Self-Guiding camera
Conditions: Visually clear
Weather: 50 F, moderate breeze
Exposure: 20 minute single exposure
Processing: Focused and captured with CCDOPS. Image processed using CCDOPS and Adobe Photoshop CS2