Horse Head complex in Ha

Taken on the 8th Jan 2016 this was my first attempt at capturing the Horse Head Nebula (B33) complex.  In the frame you can see the Horse Head (naturally), Alnitak (zeta Orionis) which is the bloody bright star, IC434 which is the HII region sitting behind the Horse Head which actually gives the definition and contrast needed to see the main player, NGC2023 a reflection nebula just to the bottom left of B33 and, finally, the Flame nebula (NGC2024) which is bottom left below Alnitak.

Unfortunately this time of year in Jakarta is not fantastic, nor for the 4-5 months prior, so there was a lot of humidity, haze and light pollution around, however I had to give this a try, and this was the best I was able to get before the clouds spoiled the party.  All in all as a first attempt I was pretty happy with the result.

Frames: 5x900s Ha using a 2″ Baader 35nm Ha filter, 3 x Dark, 25 x Flat
Camera :  Atik 420m @ 0C (ambient @ 27C)
OTA :  Skywatcher ED80 with 0.85 reducer (510mm fl/f 6.4)
Mount :  HEQ5 with belt mod,
Guiding:  ASI120MC-S with ZWO 60/280 guidescope
Software :  CDC, EqMod, PHD2, APT, DSS, PS CC

Leave a Reply