M78 and Barnard’s Loop

Messier 78 (M78), also known as NGC 2068, is a bright reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by Pierre Mcchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year. This group belongs to the Orion B molecular cloud complex. In this picture you can also see a fragment of Barnards Loop, much bigger structure. In lower right hand corner, you can see Boogey Man Nebula.

Data/Processing Attribution

Data was purchased from Telescope Live and I did processing only.

Distances/Size

Distance to the object- 1,350-1,600 light years. Size of the M78 only in the sky is about 8 x 6 minutes and diameter is about 4-5 light years.

Equipment

Mount-Paramount MX+; Scope- Takahashi FSQ-106ED, 106 mm aperture, 382mm focal length; Camera- QHY600 M Pro, 1.46 arcsec/pixel.

Observatory

Telescope Live, Heaven’s Mirror Observatory, Australia

Exposure

LRGB Filters, 8 hours 0 min