The Great Nebula in Orion is also known as Messier objects M42 and M43. The large, red area is M42 and the smaller, red tip is M43. This object is about 1,500 light years distance, located in our Milky Way galaxy and in the constellation Orion. It is the birthplace of many new stars as the nebula gases, left over when a large star reached the end of its life and blew off its outer layers of gas and dust, converge through gravity to create new stars.

Date taken: March, 2005
Location: Denton, Texas
Telescope: Orion 80ED f/7.5 FL 600mm
Camera: Canon 300D DSLR @ Prime Focus
Exposures: 28 at 3 minutes; 1 at 2 minutes; 3 at 1 minute.
Total exposure time: 1 hour and 29 minutes @ ISO 1600; All in Raw mode