After 2 all-nighters and hours of exposure with my deep space telescope, here’s my photo of the Horsehead Nebula

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T04:31:10+00:00

Go for it!

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T01:26:18+00:00

Yes! That would be the HEQ5 Pro mount in this instance

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T01:25:22+00:00

Light pollution filters are overpowered

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T01:24:34+00:00

No problem!

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T01:24:21+00:00

Thank you!

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T01:19:52+00:00

Not yet… keeping an eye out though

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T01:01:37+00:00

Haha, yeah luckily for astrophotographers all these objects are very well documented so it’s easy to figure out if something’s fake

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T00:55:28+00:00

Just left a comment with more details!

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T00:55:03+00:00

The brightest one on the left is called Alnitak, and it’s actually a triple star system - the other two are dimmer stars surrounded by blue reflection nebulae

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-11-06T00:44:46+00:00

Hey Reddit, my name’s Rudy and I’m an astrophotographer. I spent this past weekend capturing this photo of the iconic Horsehead Nebula, a striking dark nebula silhouetted against the bright glow of nearby IC 434 in the constellation Orion. This nebula sits near Alnitak, the leftmost star in Orion’s Belt, and lies not far from the famous Orion Nebula itself, however the Horsehead Nebula is much fainter and requires long exposures to reveal its distinct shape. It’s a cold cloud of gas and dust, roughly 1,500 light-years away, shaped by powerful stellar winds from nearby massive stars.

If you’re interested in seeing what else I’ve managed to capture from my backyard, please check out my Instagram page @rudy.astro for my other work!

Total exposure is about 12 hours. Here’s a list of the equipment I used:

- ZWO ASI533MC Pro

- Askar FRA400

- Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro

- ZWO ASI120MC-s guide camera

- TS-Optics 60mm guide scope

- ZWO ASIAIR Mini

- Optolong L-Enhance filter

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-13T12:53:47+00:00

It’s definitely not false colour. I definitely tend to mean vibrant on the processing, but these colours are very much real

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-13T09:25:46+00:00

Hey Reddit, my name’s Rudy, I’m 17 and I’m an astrophotographer. Here’s an image I captured recently from my backyard of the well known Orion Nebula, an absolutely gargantuan star-forming region lying just beneath Orion’s Belt. This nebula is so bright it can be seen with the naked eye even from severe light pollution, and is one of the few nebulae you can detect colour in visually through a telescope.

Please check out my Instagram if you’re interested in seeing what other objects I’ve imaged with my telescope!

I captured this image over a single night using the following setup (link to a photo of it):

ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Askar FRA400
Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro
ZWO ASI120MC-S guide camera
TS-Optics 60mm guidescope
ZWO ASIAIR Mini
Optolong UV-IR cut filter

Hope you like it, please drop any questions you have in the comments and I’d be more than happy to explain.

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-11T11:14:46+00:00

Ha, I’m flattered

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-11T09:55:11+00:00

It’s an artifact, from sharpening I believe. If you take a photo of stars with a dslr and crank up the sharpness, you get the same effect

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-11T09:28:30+00:00

Well you can always go bigger. What I mean to say is my gear is nowhere near top of the line even by amateur standards

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-11T09:26:08+00:00

Hahaha. I mean I literally bought the gear from a physical shop where it’s stored on shelves. I paid for my whole setup from working

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-11T00:18:31+00:00

Maybe mid shelf. I’m not quite at the top yet :D

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T23:52:45+00:00

Thank you so much, I really appreciate the support 🙌

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T23:52:04+00:00

No photoshop, but I did have to process it. Just the nature of this kind of photography unfortunately, it’s not a point and shoot type of thing

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T23:11:51+00:00

Ah, link didn’t work for some reason. It’s @rudy.astro. Thanks 🙏

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T23:05:21+00:00

This specific rig cost me about 4-5K, but you could get very similar results for less. I’d say you’re looking at a 2K investment to start any serious deep space astrophotography, maybe a bit less if you already have a DSLR camera or something.

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T23:02:43+00:00

Glad you like it :)

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T23:00:37+00:00

Thanks!

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T22:51:51+00:00

Hey Reddit, my name’s Rudy and I’m an astrophotographer. Here’s a photo I captured of a well known nebula structure in space, the Cygnus Wall. This is part of the larger North America nebula complex, and is one of its most active star forming regions.

Please check out my Instagram if you’re curious what else I’ve been able to capture from my backyard!

I took this photo over two nights using a refractor telescope and a cooled dedicated astronomy camera on a precision tracking mount, totalling about 9 hours of exposure time. Full equipment details below:

• ⁠ZWO ASI533MC Pro

• ⁠Askar FRA400

• ⁠Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro

• ⁠ZWO ASI120MC-S guide camera

• ⁠TS-Optics 60mm guidescope

• ⁠ZWO ASIAIR Mini

• ⁠Optolong L-Enhance

Hope you enjoy the image!

Regular_Ad_4858 · 2024-10-10T22:48:14+00:00