

Playing Around in the Winter Sky


As with most amateur astrophotographers, I cut my teeth on the Orion Nebula. Big and bright in winter’s night sky, it can be imaged at many different focal lengths. Starting with my stock telephoto lens, I was able to see the reddish nebula and its core stars with a quick single shot.
With deeper focal lengths & longer exposure faint dust trails started to appear and the full size of this stellar nursery is apparent.
My 2018/2019 winter season was limited with a shattered wrist and was only able to photograph a few nights. When the deck went onto the cottage & the observatory installed I planned to visit more than just the main Nebula.
Horsehead, Flame, & Running Man Nebulas stand out of course, but adding the Rosette & Cone Nebulas in March gave myself a good tour of the Orion Complex this year.