If we rank nebulae in the constellation Orion according how
bright or known they are, M78 nebula in probably only on the third
position, after famous “Great” nebula M42 and “Horse Head”
with “Flame” nebulae duo. Being smaller and dimmer than their
counterparts, imaging of M78 requires more effort to get good image, but
the result may be more rewarding. At last, there are far less images of
M78 all around the Internet.
The image of M78 shown here was captured by Paolo De Salvatore
(Zenit Observatory) with his G3-16200 camera on Officina Stellare RiLa
300 telescope. Unfiltered images, used for luminance channel, were
combined with images taken through red, green and blue filters. Total
exposure time is 19 hours.
