Canon 350D Hap Griffin Baader Mod2x360sec at iso 1600
30 Darks/Flats/Bias
Orion ED80 with WO 0.8 reducer/flattenerAstronomik CLS Filter
This image was processed in a desperate mood after I was unable to image for five long weeks.
It is the product of only 2 light frames that were taken almost 3 months prior.
Photographically, IC 2118 is a very difficult subject as this nebula has one of the lowest surface brightness levels of any in the northern hemisphere.
This suggestively shaped
reflection nebula is associated with the
bright star Rigel in the
constellation Orion. More formally known as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from
Rigel, that is situated about 40 light years from the nebula. Fine
dust in the nebula reflects the light. The blue color is caused not only by Rigel's blue color but because the dust grains reflect blue light more efficiently than red. The same
physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers in
Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. The nebula lies about 1000
light-years away.
September 18, 2007