M78 in Orion

[Andy Elliott]

Thanks to Jim Fox for the invite to this Forum, very pleased to be here.

This is an image I took of M78. There is a lot of eye candy in Orion, and for me this region certainly falls into that category.
Sky Watcher Esprit 100ED
Sky Watcher EQ6R Pro
ASI2600MC
Lights: 100 x 150s

My first fully processed image using PixInsight. Astro Pixel Processor and Photoshop is usually my thing, but have been wanted to take to plunge into PI for a while now.
I hope you like the result.

M78 in Orion by Andy Elliott, on Flickr

 

[JimFox]

Welcome to FocalWorld Andy!

I am so glad you joined us here, and you are starting out with a bang! M78 is such a cool object. I know most of us have an affection for Orion, but M78 seems to always get lost in the sauce. So it's really great to see this, and it's one I need to get on my list. And it's great to have another fellow 2600mc Pro person here! I know I love mine!

And it's great to see you taking the plunge into Pixinsight. Count me as another new user to Pixinsight. For about 2 years or so, I was just using DeepSkyStacker and Photoshop. I loved my results, but during this last year as I transitioned from an all DSLR kit with the SkyGuider Pro, to now having the Gem28, Askar Fra500 and the 2600mc Pro, I decided it was time to finally step up to Pixinsight. So far it's been fun, and not nearly as hard as it can be made out to be. Now granted, I am just doing the most basic things in Pixinsight, but maybe it's from coming from Photoshop, that Pixinsight hasn't been nearly as overwhelming as I thought it would be.

 

[AlanLichty]

Stunning result and welcome to FocalWorld. I don't claim to know much about astro photography but I do like seeing imagery as well done as this one. Nice work.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Welcome to the forum. Interesting color palette. There are some subtle details and gradations in this DSO. Very well done.

 

[Ben Egbert]

A big welcome to the forum ver nice first post

 

[Dan Moorehead]

Stunning

 

[Mike Lewis]

Welcome Andy, I am sure you will like it here and I can see we will be having some excellent images to enjoy from you going forward too!

As you say, lots of cool stuff in the vicinity of M42 itself that is also deserving of attention. This is a cool area and one that is on my future shot list . I like this result alot, looks like your transition to PI is going very well. So many new tools popping up for that platform it has revolutionized my workflow and I feel like you will quickly feel right at home using it.

Very nice colors and an excellently rendered starfield, plus that little part of what I am assuming is Barnard's loop make this a real keeper. Great work.

Glad Jim got you to join us here and I look forward to more wonderful images in the future!

ML

 

[Comet Hunter]

Great capture, I hope to shoot M78 soon myself, you set the bar high

 

[Andy Elliott]

Thanks for all your kind comments, its great to see my stuff amongst the fantastic images here. Must admit I was a little daunted taking the plunge in to PixInsight, but like most things I guess, if you are willing to put in the initial work in learning the basics I don't think it has been too bad; although I'm aware that I haven't yet been plunging in that deeply in to all the tools. As Jim said, maybe coming over from Photoshop helps? Anyway, looking forward to being inspired by the excellent work here and to chatting to you all.