IC434 Horsehead Nebula

DETAILS: Taken with STV & FR-237 at f3.75, LX200 10" with Taurus Tracker III, using red filter. Processed in Maxim DL.

COMMENTARY: The famous Horsehead Nebula is located in the Constellation Orion, about 1200 light-years distant. It is a large obscuring cloud of dark matter against a bright nebulosity illuminated by Zeta Orionis and other bright stars in the neighborhood. The Horsehead diameter is approximately one light-year. It is a difficult object visually through a telescope, requiring a hydrogen beta filter, fast optics and a dark sky.