Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), IC 434, NGC 2023

Nebulae in the region of the star Alnitak (ζ Orionis), the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, constellation Orion — the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), the dark Horsehead Nebula (IC 434, Barnard 33), and nebulae NGC 2023, IC 431, IC 432, IC 435, among others. Located at a distance of 1,300–1,600 light-years. The stars belonging to the constellation Orion are embedded within a vast cloud of hydrogen gas and dust, causing it to glow in the visible spectrum. Dark dust clouds in the foreground, intermixed with gas, create the intricate shapes of ionized, emission, and reflection nebulae in the constellation. Composed of 8 frames at 600s each, ISO 1600. Equipment: HEQ-5 Pro mount, autoguiding, tracking corrections, Canon 450D, Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 ED lens (operating at f/5.5). Fully calibrated, processed in DSS and Adobe Lightroom. North is to the left. Captured in the area of the Novye Gorki tract, Chernsky District, Tula Region, Russia — a gray zone light pollution area (Bortle class 2). Date: October 21, 2015.