THE ORION NEBULA M42
The Orion Nebula is a giant fan-shaped cloud of gas and dust about 1,700 light years away in Orion's dagger. The gas glows from the light of newly formed stars in its midst.
This image was made by adding together four separate exposures made through a green (V) filter to produce the equivalent of a single 2 minute exposure. Since the picture was taken through the 80 mm, f/11 guidescope, the field of view is larger than the other pictures. Therefore, star images are smaller. When star images are this small, they are only recorded by a few light-sensititive photosites. Thus, star images look rectangular, just like the shapes of photosites themselves.
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