Messier 78
Messier 78 or M 78, also known as NGC 2068, is part of the constellation Orion the Hunter. It is a reflection nebula, which means that it contains very little ionized gas and merely reflects the light of the nearby stars. This is an area of new star births. It is about 1,600 light-years distant from Earth. In the sky, it is located just to the upper left of the Belt of Orion and very near the famous Horsehead & Flame nebulae (Portion of it in the upper left corner).
The telescope: Orion ED80T with the Orion field flattener
Camera: Altair Astro Hypercam 294c Pro TEC
Camera sensor temperature: -10°C
Camera gain/offset: 900/10
Filter: UV/IR Cut
Guiding: PHD2
Sub-frames: 12 x 480 seconds
Sub-frames: 30 x 300 seconds
Total integreation time: 4hr 06mn
Calibration Frames: Darks, Flats, and Dark-Flats
Capture Software: N.I.N.A.
Stacked in Deep SkyStacker
Post-processed in PixInsight & Photoshop CC 2021
Location: My Heavenly Backyard Garden
Bortle rating: 4.5
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