This pair of nebulae get their names for obvious reasons. The Horsehead is designated Barnard 33 and is a dark nebula (cold dust) since it does not emit light, as does the rest of IC 434 in the background with its red glow from ionized hydrogen. They are located in the constellation Orion and are about 1,500 light years away from us. They can be found just under the star Alnitak (Zeta Orionis), which is the left most star in the three stars that comprise Orion's belt. It is the large, very bright star seen at left center of the image.

The Flame Nebula is designated NGC2024. It is blasted by radiation from young, hot stars that are hidden by the dark dust in the area. These stars cause the hydrogen to light up, much like a fluorescent light bulb.

We are all fortunate that they are located as they are, allowing us to frame them all in one photo.

To see largest available size, please click on "Original" at bottom of page.

Dates Taken:
December 28, 29, 30 and 31, 2008
Location:
Ft. Griffin State Historic Site, TX
Telescope:
Takahashi TSA-102 f/8 at Prime Focus
Mount:
Losmandy GM-8; guided by Pixcel 237 thru E-Finder
Camera:
Canon 450D; with Hap Griffin Baader modification
and controlled by ImagesPlus 3.60
Exposures:
80 images at 5 mins each, unfiltered with Custom White Balance
Total of 6 hours and 40 minutes exposure time
Processing:
Converted,dark and flat calibrated, aligned, stacked,
normalized and combined in ImagesPlus 3.50 using Auto Processing
Further processing in Photoshop CS2.

Although the Canon 450D is not a noisy camera, it was further helped
by being cooled by ambient temperatures in the teens and twenties fahrenheit