| IC 434 Horse Head Nebula The bright star is the left star in Orion's belt, Alnitak, Magnitude 1.74 and 817.44 light years away. Just below Alnitak is the Flame Nebula HV 28 (NGC 2024) and to the right is the famous Horsehead nebula. The dark dust blocks out light and the resulting silhouette resembles a Horsehead. This nebula is not visible to the naked eye and it takes special filters and a large telescope to discern the Horsehead shape. This nebula was first detected on photographic plates by E. Pickering in 1889. The Horsehead is approximately 1 light year across at a distance of 1200 light years from Earth. |
| Telescope / Lens | Orion ED80 Tele-Vue .8 Reducer f/6 480mm |
| Mount Type | G11 Gemini GoTo V3 |
| Camera | ST8XME |
| Filters | LRGB Custom Scientific |
| Film | CCD (Kodak) |
| Exposure | 120 minutes LRGB |
| Processing | CCDSoft, AIP4Win, Photoshop CS2 |
| Date | 9-30-2006 |
| Location | Eagles Rest, 15 miles
South of Dexter, Oregon 122° 44' 07" 38" W - 43° 50' N |
| Conditions | 2500' magnitude 6+ Skies; Clear & Steady |