The Orion Nebula is for me the most striking object in the northern sky with its swirling clouds of gas and brilliant star forming region. It is shown here along with clusters on either side that complete the Sword of Orion. The one on the left is often called running man for the shape seen in the nebulosity around the cluster.
Details
2011-01-30 in backyard, Victoria BC.
Conditions - clear and 2 deg C with somewhat reduced visibility and moderate winds.
Equipment - Orion ED80T CF refractor, WO 0.8x reducer/flattener and modified Canon T1i on Astrotrac travel mount.
Exposure - 35- 120s lights with 10darks and 8 flats for calibration.
Processing in Images Plus and Photoshop.