M42

This is the famous Orion Nebula, in the middle of the sword scabbard below Orion's belt.   It is a huge hydrogen cloud that is forming new stars, some of which have already begin to shine.  It lies approximately 1500 light years from earth.   Only the brightest part of the nebula is shown here and its actual boundaries lie far beyond the borders of the image area.

Image taken with the 402 camera operating on the Nikkor 300mm lens.  Exposure is 10 minutes at F:4.5,  using track and accumulate.

Image taken October 19, 2002, with the 237 camera operating on the Nikkor 300mm lens.  Exposure is 10 minutes at F:4.5,  using track and accumulate.

Taken September 23, 2001, with the C-14 in Fastar mode.   Exposure was 150 seconds using track and accumulate for each of the RGB exposures.  Color combine and image processing was done with Maxim DL.

This image taken October, 2002, with the Nikon operating at F:7 on the C-14.  Exposure is 2 minutes on Fuji 800.  Notice the Orionid meteor near the bottom of the frame.