Many of us view the horsehead nebula as iconic. I’m no different. In fact, perhaps more so. As a youth, looking at pictures of this in very early Sky & Telescope magazines, and other astronomy books including Nightwatch, always had been mesmerizing. To me, it represents what deep space is. My father introduced me to astronomy and stargazing, and I always associate this object with those very early days of learning and other memories of my father. I chose this orientation so that the horsehead remains the focus without the other distractions, although fascinating, of this area in the sky. By this point I thought I would end up with an excessive amount of integration time on this target, but I have been plagued by months of clouds and other poor weather in my area. For now, I will have to settle and be proud of the 4+ hours I have on it, and to find the right place on my wall to hang a print of it.
- Taken – January 31st and February 13th, 2023 in Rockwood ON
- 4h 20m - 34x300s and 30x180s lights, 30 flats, 30 dark flats, and 50 darks
- Askar 130phq with an asi294mc pro camera, gain 120, L-Extreme filter, cooled to -20
- EQ6R-PRO with wo50mm guide scope and asi120mm guide camera
- Asiair Plus used for image acquisition
- EAF used for focus
- Pixinsight used for stacking and image processing