M42 and Horsehead Nebula

Wide angle image of the Orion and Horsehead nebulae. The image illustrates the striking contrast in surrounding coloration with the dark cloud of the horsehead juxtaposed against the bright Ha emissions behind it in contrast to the bluish reflected radiation from massive stars in the core of the Orion nebula. The image is a montage of exposures made with SPA-3 followed by CHI-5 due to poor weather in Spain. By completion, half the exposure time was obtained at 25% moon or greater.