Alnilam and the Delectable Surrounding Nebulae

by James Peirce

Objects in field: IC 423, IC 424, IC 426, 46 Ori), The star Alnilam (ε Ori

Equipment: Takahashi Epsilon-180ED, Takahashi FCT-65D, ZWO ASI2600MC DUO, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro

Integration: 10h 25m 45s

Alnilam is the central star of Orion’s Belt in the constellation Orion, and the bright star dead center in this photograph. While photographing the Horsehead Nebula I noticed the abundance of dust and nebulosity that surrounded Alnilam, which left me quite eager to point my telescope directly at this star to see what appeared. And I ended up spending a couple nights doing just that while…