I vividly recall the first time that I tried to photograph this richly coloured sidekick to the more famous Orion Nebula. As I struggled to mentally plate-solve the star pattern on my iPad screen, I gradually became aware that the outline of the horse’s head was detectable. This not only made the framing of this complex object much easier, it also boosted my confidence immeasurably to see that the target was actually detectable in a single, relatively short exposure in my light-polluted backyard.

Telescope: Stellarvue SVR-90 Raptor with 0.8 focal reducer (f/5.6, focal length 504 mm)
Mount: Sky-Watcher HEQ5
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro
Guide Scope: ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120 MM Mini
Filter: Optolong 2” L-Pro and ZWO 2” DuoBand
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Plus.
Software: PixInsight, PhotoShop
Imaging (gain = 120): 254 x 180 seconds
Integration: 12 hours, 42 minutes (used only 1 hour of DuoBand exposures)
Dates: Jan 2, 10, 20, 28, & 29, 2023