Another beautiful clear night. A bit cold with temperatures dropping down in the low 30s once the Sun set, but it did not seem to be as damp out as the night before. The Moon was just a small sliver and set shortly after the Sun. I had originally planned to get some light from the Horsehead, but I decided to have a go at the January 2025 SkyWatcher USA TOTM, Barnard’s Loop. Well a try at a small piece of it. I framed between M 78 and NGC 2112 to capture these two in the field of view with a part of Barnard’s Loop. The NINA sequence kicked off at 7:15 PM and ran until a little after 2 AM on 01/02/2025.
| Primary (Imaging) | Secondary (Guiding) |
|---|---|
| Scope: Astro-Tech AT66ED with .8 Focal Reducer (320mm – F/4.8) Filter: ZWO Duo-Band Ha/OIII Filter Camera: ZWO ASI294 MC Pro, Cooled to -10 C Focuser: Gemini Autostar Focuser Mount: Sky Watcher EQ6-R Pro |
Scope: SVBONY SV165 30mm F/4 Guide Scope Camera: Orion Star Shooter Autoguider (OSSAG) |
| Telescope Control, Image Acquisition, and Image Processing Software | |
|
Equipment Control and Imaging Software: NINA/PHD2/ASCOM on a Mini-PC Processing Software: Siril’s Interactive Companion (Sirilic), PixInsight |
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Barnard’s Loop is a large emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. Barnard’s Loop is about 518 light years from Earth. It is part of the Orion molecular cloud which also contains the Horsehead nebula and the Orion (M 42) nebula. The loop was likely created by a supernova explosion which happened about 2 million years ago. The section of Barnard’s Loop I captured contains the open star cluster NGC 2112. Barnard’s Loop is also the SkyWatcher USA Target of the Month (TOTM) for January 2025.
This is 120 x 180 second exposures at 121 gain, 30 offset, and bin 2×2. Stacked and calibrated with a master dark using Sirilic. Processed in PixInsight.
Barnard’s Loop runs through the top of this image. The loop runs right through the open star cluster NGC 2112 in the top center. The reflection nebula, Messier 78 (M 78) is in the lower right corner of this field of view.
Forecast is calling for the possibility of some wintery weather tonight, but Saturday night is still looking pretty good. If the forecast holds I’ll get some photons from the Horsehead Nebula on Saturday. Clear skies…
Sky-Watcher USA Target of the Month (TOTM) Submission for 2025
