| Telescope / Lens | Orion ED80 Tele-Vue TRV-2008, .8 Reducer f/6 480mm |
| Mount Type | G11 Gemini GoTo V3 |
| Camera | ST8XME NABG |
| 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 |
The bright star is the left star in Orion’s belt, Alnitak, Magnitude 1.74 and 817.44 light years away. Just below Alnitak (ζ Ori) is the Flame Nebula HV 28 (NGC 2024) and to the right is the famous Horsehead nebula. The top bright star Alnilam, is the central belt star of the constellation Orion.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.
While the Flame Nebula NGC 2024 is 1,500 light years distant. This nebula is very energetic in ultraviolet light. It knocks away electrons from the great clouds hydrogen gas in the surrounding area
This image was taken through and Orion ED 80mm refractor. This is an inexpensive doublet near APO. One of the true values available to amateur astronomers today.