Nebulae in the constellation Orion (M42, IC 434, NGC 2024, etc.) and their dusty surroundings.

 Posted: Jan 22nd, 2026
Technical Info
Telescope/Lens: Samyang 135 mm. f/2 ED
Camera: nikon z8
Mount: Ioptron SkyTracker
Software: PixInsight, Ps
Exposure:
192 x 10" ISO/Gain: 1600 - F/4,5
401 x 30" ISO/Gain: 800 - F/2,0
100 x 60" ISO/Gain: 800 - F/2,0
80 x 60" ISO/Gain: 800 - F/2,0
Blue, Bortle 3 zone:
 Novgorodskaya Oblast, Russia
 Dec 13th, 2025
6 h 53 m
129
Resolution: 6881x4915 px
Scale: 13527 KB
Add comment

Comments

Great work!
Anastasia, I see you're using the iOptron Skytracker Pro: how do you like it? What's the failure rate depending on exposure/focus? Does it have a counterweight?
Yesterday, at 12:21 Reply
Anastasiya Tretyakova Replied to Sergeich
There is no counterweight; in principle, my setup tracks fairly well at exposures up to 2 minutes. The percentage of rejected frames also depends on the target's location and its distance from the pole. For example, when I photographed Polaris and its surroundings, I could use 5-minute exposures with few rejects. However, Orion is quite far from the pole, so even at 2 minutes, about 30% of frames were rejected (though external conditions also play a role—wind gusts cause slight star trailing, and I naturally removed such frames from the stack). The optimal setting was around 1 minute, which gave about 10% rejects. Overall, for its price, the tracker is excellent—probably the best for a beginner astrophotographer and absolutely top-notch for landscape astro. But I've now upgraded to its bigger brother, the SkyGuider, which comes with a counterweight and can handle a heavier setup. You can even mount two cameras on the counterweight bar.
Yesterday, at 13:05 Reply
Great work.
Yesterday, at 21:49 Reply
Anastasiya Tretyakova Replied to Oeswww
Thank you!)
Yesterday, at 21:57 Reply

Comments are available only to registered users. Register or log in to leave a comment.