See the other image of M42 in this gallery for a description of this object. This image is much smaller than the other image of M42 in this gallery because this image was taken with my 3.5" refractor telescope (as compared to the other image which was taken with a 5" refractor telescope).
You can quickly appreciate the difference between these two telescopes with regard to the image scale that they produce. With the larger field of view in this image you can clearly see the full extent of this interesting system, which includes M42 (the main nebulosity in the center); M43 (a small nebulosity to the immediate left of the brilliant white mass in the center of the image, and separated from it by a few dark lanes); NGC1977 (the blue nebula on the left side of the image, often called the "Running Man Nebula" because the shape of the dark lanes in the nebula give resemble a running man); and NGC1981 (the small cluster of bright white stars to the immediate left of NGC1977).
The Orion Nebula (M42)
Date Taken:December 16, 2003
Location Taken: Conditions of Location: Equipment Used:Takahashi Sky 90 (3.5") apochromat refractor telescope with flattener/reducer, Canon 10d digital camera.
Processing Used:five 3.5-minute unguided images @ 800 ISO, combined in Images Plus (average combine, digital development) and further processed in Photoshop
Distance from Location:1,300 light years
Constellation:Orion
Other Link: