Exposure: Halpha 8 (30 sec), and 18 (10 min).
Date: Jan 2011
Comment: This is one of the most magnificent objects in our night sky. It is composed of hydrogen plasma. If you look closely, the Trapezium (a multiple star) is visible in the bright heart of the nebula - to the lower right of a dark patch.
Below is a color image of this object - it is one of the first I obtained back in 2006.
© Don Scott
The Holin A. Grotch Observatory
