M42 Orion & Running Man
M42 · ORION & RUNNING MAN DEC 2025
§ DEEP-SKY · TARGET

M42

Orion & Running Man

TYPE
Emission nebula + reflection
CONSTELLATION
Orion
DISTANCE
1,344 ly
MAGNITUDE
+4.0
APPARENT SIZE
85' × 60'
ACQUISITION
DATE
Dec 2025
LOCATION
Columbus, OH · Bortle 5
INTEGRATION
~12h
PALETTE
Broadband
FILTERS
UV/IR cut

First light on the printed OTA. Everything about this image is the story of a scope I didn't fully trust yet, taking a picture of a target that punishes any instrument that doesn't know what it's doing.

§ 01 · PROCESSING

Workflow

  1. Stacked in PixInsight (WBPP) with calibration frames
  2. HDR composite from multiple exposure lengths
  3. StarXTerminator star removal
  4. BlurXTerminator deconvolution
  5. NoiseXTerminator noise reduction
§ 02 · GEAR

Equipment

SCOPE
3D-printed 150mm f/5 Newtonian astrograph
CAMERA
ASI533MC Pro
MOUNT
Proxisky Umis20s
FILTERS
UV/IR cut
GUIDING
SVBony 60mm guide scope · 22mm mini guide cam · PHD2