Date: 12/27/2018
Description: The bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori), the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, shines energetic ultraviolet light into the Flame and this knocks electrons away from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the glow results when the electrons and ionized hydrogen recombine. Additional dark gas and dust lies in front of the bright part of the nebula and this is what causes the dark network that appears in the center of the glowing gas. The Flame Nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula. [Ref: WikiPedia]
Sky Conditions: Hazy skies with bright moon, FWHM: 2.5 arc sec/pixel
Imaging: Exposure: 90min Luminous (9x600sec) at 2x2bin and 60 min RGB each (6 x 600sec/ea.) at 2x2 bin using RGB filters
Guiding: ProTrac assisted guiding of 10 sec guide rate at 2x2 bin using NOAG
Equipment:
FLI 8300 CCD (LRGB filters), cooled to -30deg C
AT12RC at F8
Starlight Focuser
NOAG with StarlightXpress Lodestar II guide camera
Paramount ME Mount
SW:
SkyX, PixIsight - calibration with darks, flats, bias and color correction
Observatory site : Northern VA