M42 The Orion Nebula
This images was taken on iTelescope T8, a Takahashi FSQ 106mm scope coupled to a FLI microline camera. It is comprised of Luminescence, Red, Green and Blue exposures, each of 5 minutes. The FITS files were first processed in ESA’s Fits Liberator before processing in Photoshop CC.
The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.
