Here is the bottom half of the familiar winter constellation of Orion -- "The Hunter." This arrangement of stars is home to one of the most famous celestial objects outside the planets: the Orion Nebula. It's hard to see when you are just gazing up at the Orion constellation. But if you know where to look (the middle "star" of Orion's sword), you can see a faint fuzzy patch.
Thanks to modern digital camera sensors, it's possible to gather enough light in two seconds at f/4 with ISO 1600 that the nebula now pops out of the constellation's mugshot above. Here is a close-up:
Of course, fancy star-tracking equipment can generate much nicer views of the Orion Nebula. But I'm happy that I was able to capture what I did, using a regular DSLR, a zoom lens set at 70mm, and a sturdy tripod.
It also helped to have a super-dark moonless sky at Black Butte in Central Oregon, where Kathy and I spent last weekend. :-)
