M78

Object: Messier 78 (NGC 2068)
Type: Nebula
Distance: 1630 light years
Constellation: Orion
Date: 28 January 2006
Equipment: SXV-H9, Vixen 114mm f5.3 ED refractor
Subframes: 17 x 180 second, unguided, no darks or flats.

Same old mantras (mantrae?) of "more and longer subs" and "could do with a flat field". At the time I took this image though, I didn't have any image stacking software, other than the clunky package that came with the SXV-H9 camera itself, so I tended to shy away from flat fields.

This curious mixture of dark and reflection nebulae still shows up reasonably well though. It's another one I plan to revisit now I have more experience, better software and a colour filter wheel.

M78 is the nebulousity in the bottom half of the frame - the upper one is NGC 2071. The smudges just to the northwest and southwest of M78 also have their own NGC designations, NGC 2067 and 2064 respectively.