I Took a Picture of the ORION NEBULA Up Close...

Photographing the Orion Nebula!
The Orion Nebula is one of the brightest nebulae in the night sky and is visible to the naked eye. It lies 1,500 light-years away from Earth and can be found just south of Orion's belt in the constellation Orion.
This magnitude 4 interstellar cloud of ionized atomic hydrogen contains a young open cluster of four primary stars known as the Trapezium. M42 is a fantastic beginner astrophotography subject to capture with your DSLR camera and telescope.
The final image includes 45 x 4-minutes in h-alpha, and 40 x 2-minutes in broadband RGB. I also applied a subtle layer of existing data (shorter RGB exposures) to blend into the core.
My Orion Nebula HDR Tutorial Video: • Orion Nebula HDR Tutor...
My Astrophotography Image Processing Guide: bit.ly/astro-p...
Practice Your Processing Skills with My Data: astrobackyard....
The Hand Warmer: amzn.to/3oju6yi
Thank you for watching, and clear skies!
Affiliate Links:
Some of the links in my video descriptions are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you click them and make a qualifying purchase.

[@asnlem4772]

I don't comment often but this shot was one of the best I've ever seen. 👍🏻😯

[@ikwikwi]

I comment and like videos cos they improve their visibility and people deserve to get credited for their work. If u got any benefit from it, like, comment and share

[@ZackWolfMusic]

It's a computer generated image. Stop being navie! You can find thr exact same image on google...

[@asnlem4772]

@@ZackWolfMusic yeah generated by the computer...I would call it stacking and image processing 😂. I think you are wrong on this channel.

[@ZackWolfMusic]

@@asnlem4772 No I'm right the images he showed are the exact ones from google.

[@ThePedro8161]

@@ZackWolfMusic They aren't, but okay.

[@PS-ul2nm]

I am feeling really down mentally and I saw this notification. It cheered me up a bit. I still have to wait 24 minutes tho for the premiere to start. But thanks for all these uploads, I love them. You got me into astronomy and it has helped a lot with my mental health.

[@KVF6363]

Totally for me also, I lost my older sister to cancer during Covid lockdown last June so wasn't able to attend funeral in Ozzie...these vids have helped take my mind off her, and looking at the milky way images helped numb my grief & steal my thoughts away from thinking about her.

[@PS-ul2nm]

@@KVF6363 oh I'm really sorry about that. It's fantastic that we can enjoy the wonders of the universe through one's backyard

[@poshsims4016]

SAME💗

[@KVF6363]

@@PS-ul2nmthank you, I feel happiness again since subscribing to Trevor's utube. Astrophotography has renewed my desire to learn something, thank you for sharing

[@baTonkaTruck]

Hey, I’m just a random person from the internet, but wanted to say I feel for you. The lockdown has been a struggle for me too, beyond the normal season depression I deal with. But this channel was also a huge part of why I recently took up astronomy, and it’s been such a beautiful, life-affirming way reach out beyond my suffering and feel connected to the universe. The fact that every object in the night sky is shining its light right down at me actually makes me feel very big, and connected to my world. Keep looking up, and always ask for help if you need it. There are many organizations and people who devote their lives to, and derive great joy from helping those who suffer, in the mind or otherwise. Best wishes.

[@dylanotto574]

This is my dream as of now

[@TheSpacePlaceYT]

Same. I've gotten a lot of interest of photographing Orion. In the summer, I plan to get my phone and take the wonderful pictures of the sky. You don't need much to get started. I'm not even a teenager yet and I'm still doing astrophotography pretty much by myself.

[@dylanotto574]

@@TheSpacePlaceYT it’s good you are starting off young with a good passion, keep that same interest!

[@TheSpacePlaceYT]

@@dylanotto574 :)

[@erikbriela3777]

@@TheSpacePlaceYT Hey, same here! Beginner preteen here and I'm really interested in astrophotography! I would like to learn more about stacking and all of that, because I'm not sure what to use. But I've seen the Pleiades cluster, the orion nebula, stars, the moon and some planets. I think I need a bigger scope to see detail on planets though. But I'm working on it!

[@dylanotto574]

@@erikbriela3777 same here

[@pissywilly]

I'm a beginner and slew to m42 after the end of another disastrous imaging session. When that beauty appeared dead center of my t3i preview screen I almost cried.

[@astrojourneyuk]

M42 has to be one of the best night sky targets and you can visually see it too!!!

[@tamartin7001]

Same here, if nothing else I always looks at M42 to remind myself why I enjoy astronomy

[@Guido_XL]

I often simply take my Celestron 20x80 binoculars and peer towards M42. Just after I got my neck sore from staring at M31 Andromeda. That's at evenings when the weather is simply not good enough for the effort to take out my 190/1000 Mak-Newt.

[@Guido_XL]

@@astrojourneyuk Well, you can see many objects out there with the naked eye. Away from urban light pollution, I can also see M31 Andromeda with the naked eye, although it only looks like a faint cloud. You probably mean to say "with the naked eye", as "visually" indicates the act of peering through an eyepiece of a telescope or binoculars, in contrast to astrophotography, where a camera is replacing the human eye. But I have to totally agree with you: M42 never ceases to amaze.

[@dr8964]

same here. you're not alone :)

[@redfireroush]

I have to say I truly enjoy and learn a lot from each of your videos. The downside in watching your videos is like home shopping. You view the million-dollar homes first (your videos) and then when it comes to actually make the purchase, it's just a modest small home that needs some fixing up. I have to remind myself that I am not tech-savvy and struggle with software programs for pic editing. And being disabled I don't have the ability to deal with long hour cold temp photography in the winter.

[@woodswalker88]

I became Starstruck just a few months ago after a visit to Cherry Springs. It has been such a journey!! At age 73 I didn't think there was anything left that could so inspire & capture my interest. Since then I have been looking at stars & discovered the fuzzy stars on Orion's sword. I then got a Dwarf Smartscope on Cyber Monday, and have been capturing my first images of this nebula (which totally looks like a bird to me!!) Your video is incredible. I'm so impressed with your rig & your dedication. Thanks & clear skies!

[@paca_bill4863]

"And when the clouds finally clear..".....here in Seattle, that may be sometime in late May or June :) Clear skies!

[@aviewfarfaraway8560]

Love seeing the things you can do with the Raptor 61! This image looks spectacular, I agree, the Orion Nebula is well worth the time. 👍

[@user-ne9go6do2b]

Orion is the first star system that i learned in lockdown. I like it very much, it's my favourite!! I see the Orion belt every night in Athens, Greece!

[@gcjas1998]

For me in Greece, it's Cassiopeia that I first learned, under the Summer-Autumn skies. I use it as a pivot point to find everything else like the triangulum, Perseus, and Polaris.

[@Felix-jp6ii]

In Germany, it has been cloudy since 2 weeks now and it will be cloudy for another week, not even a single night was suitable for astrophotography or stargazing.

[@Guido_XL]

Yes, I experienced the same grief here in the middle of the Netherlands. Perhaps this weekend, skies may clear up. It cannot remain like this forever... Irgendwann möchte ich auch Mal wieder meinen 190/1000 Maksutov-Newton rausstellen und dieses Mal M42 aufs Korn nehmen, jetzt wo ich 12V Autositzheizmatten dran gebastelt habe, damit er draußen nicht auskühlt.

[@LemmyWinkz]

Saw the Orion Nebula for the first time today with my telescope. Seriously one of my proudest moments as an amateur star-gazer! Must say I'm grateful that you are making these videos. Cheers from Sweden.

[@SSIops]

The editing in your videos never fail to impress.

[@Lasidar]

I'm amazed you got that result under basically a full moon. Great job!

[@ChaoticOrcPaladin]

Holy crap! I've seen a lot of pics of Orion but this takes the cake! I'd love to see the processing workflow on this, at least as far as the Canon goes (I haven't talked myself into buying a telescope and ccd cam yet). Outstanding job! Clear skies to all!

[@myownspace9666]

one of my favorite channels on KZbin. Thanks for getting me into astrophotography!

[@Mistr_A]

Would love to see the processing steps you took for the final image, absolutely stunning work!

[@13_cmi]

This one had to be hard

[@backyardproductions9589]

no answer yet...mmh processing from raw to that colorful result seems to be a hidden mystery ;)

[@TheTrifel]

I'd be really interested to know how you align multiple images from separate setups and line it all up in the end it's definitely an art

[@donaldmcgregor8152]

Thats the celestial object that got me hooked! With the line and sinker attached!

[@helmuthschultes9243]

Agree that here in Melbourne Australia we are spoiled for great sky views like Orion and many others. My poor view equivalent is M31 Andromeda, that barely is 10° from North horizon. Best seen from Northern Territory here.

[@Guido_XL]

Last December, I could see M31 Andromeda with the naked eye, almost at zenith. When I take my Celestron 20x80 binoculars, look to Cassiopeia and then to Mirach, I can easily find M31 in between. It gives me a sore neck, though ;) So, to compensate for this, I pan towards Orion and M42. Not now though, we are suffering from heavy clouding lately. Perhaps this weekend will be better. Greetings from the Netherlands @ 51.88° N.

[@apscoinscurrenciesmore7599]

Nice astro vlog🌷fab image of the orion nebula 😎👍

[@catchingphotons]

A really nice image!! Thanks a lot for sharing this with us! Clear skies! -Chris

[@marcelrahellucerneastrophoto]

Very beautiful picture of Orion 👍🏻😃 looks awesome! We in Switzerland are not lucky with the weather, since 3 weeks cloudy... well hope soon to catch Orion as well 🤩 Your videos are always TOP!

[@mtbse789]

That is one of the most amazing images I have seen of the Orion Nebula!

[@mathewraimbault1793]

Hey Trevor! Because of you, I was able to image the Flame Nebula & Horsehead Nebula at 300mm. Thank you for everything that you do. I hope your 2021 gets clear skies!

[@martinavarratta6713]

Your setup and your skills are both impeccable. Simply amazing 🤯

[@soilwork113]

I have to say you are so right about missing the stars, I am here on Long Island NY so our weather is almost identical. Its been cloudy for about a week now and I am itching to really get light onto my new imaging scope. You are an inspiration to me to shoot from my Bortle 8 sky and I saw your Orion picture on Instagram, absolutely amazing, hands down the best astrophotography photo I have seen to date.

[@martynh5410]

Excellent video and image capture of M42. Kudos to you for braving the chilly weather. I live further South in the USA (about 39 deg N). It it’s been too cold for me on the rare clear nights here!!!

[@baTonkaTruck]

I’m just starting out, strictly visual for now but man, the first time I slewed to the Orion Nebula it absolutely sucked all the breath from my lungs and even now I just can’t explain the raw richness of emotion that hit me. And even though I just have a 90’s Celestron C8 I got off some far out dude on Craigslist, and it was black and white in the eyepiece, in Bortle 4 skies with poor seeing, without anywhere the contrast or detail of these photos, the impact those ageless photons had as they hit my retina is absolutely beyond what language can convey. What a beautiful image dude, you really are a master. I’m looking forward to taking on astrophotography, although my bank account isn’t. But for now, the magic of finding objects and admiring them as-is, in real-time, is as much as my soul can bear.

[@rossblezard574]

Awesome result.... also great tunes in this video!

[@gomanastro]

Nicely done, and I Like the feel/mood change...more laid back feeling to this vid. You are in your element again. I think showing things below the scope is helpful as well....cables, and hook ups, as well as the close-up on the actual mount set up. I also set my Raptor 61 up yesterday with the focuser on top....otherwise hits the mount when balancing. Getting ideas from others saves time and frustration sometimes.

[@SunJao]

I quickly did the same thing... focuser on top. Otherwise they get right in the way of the perfect mount plate location.

[@Lagomorphis]

Trev/Ash, I just wanted you to know that no matter how much anticipation there is to your new upload (and it's a lot) I always let the ads run first and don't skip, so you deservedly get paid. As usual a lovely lovely shot. Looks like a big raspberry!

[@marinomaronati6476]

you are such a good man! .. I did the same ! actually also because even the commercials of this wonderguy are COOL! ahahahahah

[@JulsHorrorStories]

I just saw it tonight and even though I didn't see it like the image here, it still looks beautiful

[@bl4nk270]

Keep up the work bro

[@AstroForumSpace]

Upside down scope and pocket heater, check :-)! Insane picture and video, congrats Trevor, you rock! Happy 2021.

[@bliekp]

Last night I finally had the opportunity to photograph the Orion Nebula for the first time. After months of rain and heavy clouds, finally a clear and freezing winter night. As a beginner, this was on the top of my list for winter. The results after just a few subs are frankly amazing. Planning on shooting more subs tonight and tomorrow night! Thank you for your inspiration Trevor!

[@bliekp]

PS: equipment: WO GT71 with 0.8x reducer (Flat 6AIII), ZWO ASI 183MC Pro, Optolong L-Pro filter. HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod and new ball bearings.

[@michaelsnedden6758]

You need to travel to Sydney Australia. At 8pm Orion's belt and nebula are directly over my house n on a clear night look's absolutely amazing.

[@markkeller9378]

OMG! Wow!! Spectacular. What great work you do!!

[@jimblackwell3754]

Exquisite Photo, Trevor!

[@gabrythompson123]

Very, very beautiful shot! Good :)

[@davidstewart3868]

An amazing picture of the Orion Nebula. Well done 👍

[@OGx1411]

so yeah, I just found the most underrated channel

[@davekelly8168]

That bang you heard was my jaw hitting the floor...

[@billchiles7734]

Trevor, I wanted to thank you for the tip on the hand warmers. They are awesome and a hand saver on the bitterly cold winter nights we have in the high Colorado desert. Also, I've been a fan of your site and work for sometime. Living in a Bortal 2 site I figured one day I'd get the gear to photograph DSO. Well with my wife's encouragement I took the plunge. Keep the content coming and know that you do make a difference.

[@JacobPernell]

This is amazing. Seeing the photos are super inspiring and incredibly humbling 🌌

[@julieghislainst-jacques6926]

Bravo Trevor. Great job. Continue to amaze us.

[@tomivy11]

Rudy is such a good dog! Just hanging out in the back yard with dad!!! Lol. Great video as always. Cool seeing the monochrome and filter wheel on the small scope!

[@ankarstew]

Great pic, Trevor! I smile at you guys and your "winter problems". I'm South African and currently live in Dubai, so I generally don't have the cold weather and cloudy skies to worry about. Sadly, the light pollution is a problem, though. Luckily, it's a short drive to the desert, where we can get Bortle 4.

[@Hyad3s]

Your videos are bloody fantastic! You have inspired me to start looking into this hobby. I've always been interested, but it's been put off. Well not anymore. Please don't stop making videos and explaining things to us newbies. Your videos' quality is literally "out of this world" pardon the pun. The music you choose, the way you manipulate the camera and angles you use, creates a thing of beauty that is very difficult to look away from. Thank you, from South Africa.

[@stevensaturn7406]

Hey bud, how has it been with astrophotography so far?

[@tomctutor]

Absolutely astounding that an amateur astronomer (as opposed to an observatory) could get such detailed image of a nebula. I raise my hat to you and thankyou. PS don't neglect Betelgeuse and Rigel spectacular and colorful giants as well as the many multiple star systems in there and all approx 1000 Ly away.

[@spartazomb_yt]

I always love when I get a recommendation for one of your videos and to see what you shot and the final results

[@q_nevermore]

M42 is one of my favourite objects and one I want to get a good pic of. I'm lucky being in the southern hemisphere and it's nice and high right now. Sometimes I just go and sit outside and look up just to enjoy it with the naked eye but I do plan to do a minute by minute full map of the whole constellation with all the DSOs just to capture it all. It'll take some time though cause I'm just a beginner and starting my journey.

[@Gatechsq21]

Thank you for starting your channel and for the great content! I find your channel inspirational and illuminating at the same time.

[@AndreH3d]

I recently made a trip to a Bortle 3 area just to shoot my first Milky Way pictures... bought the rockinon 14mm more than 9 years ago and believe it or not, I never got my feet in dark skies during the milky way season, so I never gave up and sold the lens, Tau Herculids was my incentive to go out and shoot it in kissimee praire national park 2.5 hours from Orlando, since then I rediscovered my passion for astronomy and rediscovering your channel, man your work is fantastic, thanks for all the lessons, beein watching your videos non stop for a couple weeks

[@pvrohanraj]

Man the whole video really captures the atmosphere very well. Thank you for your insight!

[@marcosastrophotography100]

Hi Trevor, great video and wonderful a result. Clear Skies ✨🔭 Marco

[@Kingloui10]

Always got some fire tracks!

[@antonvelmozhnyi7401]

Wow, that difference between monochrome h alpha and color camera is stunning! I need to get one too.

[@Martin_4852]

Monochrome is just black and white, color camera is all colors.

[@teaguanohalloran4506]

Wow what a final image. Inspiring work Trevor

[@space9342]

THIS WAS TOTALLY EPIC TREVOR NICE IMAGE CLEAR SKIES

[@astrofunisrael]

superb image of orion nebula and the running man nabula , a lot of details , can see great texture

[@CN_Astrophotography]

I'm so excited to get into astrophotography, I just ordered my first EQ mount and telescope, along with the L-Pro filter and other doodads, so hoping they ship sooner than later because I have wanted to do this for such a long time. Watched many of your videos for inspiration!

[@galloots11]

Well done man, this looks really great. There have been clouds here in Niagara for so many weeks now, that its been a rarity to get outside. Cant wait to see what you put out next!

[@yusufkhan7324]

As they say....the best in the business.....btw the nebula left my jaw open....it so beautiful!!!

[@dawnhughes1707]

Incredibly beautiful!

[@ericlopez2911]

Moustrous scopes and gear! Grettings from Costa Rica 🇨🇷

[@trollgey124]

seeing m42 and m43 looks mesmerizing

[@AV_204]

Still remember my first time seeing M42, was a beautiful moment that’s for sure

[@cliveroberts415]

Great M42, nice to see the HEQ5 is still in use

[@blueteknoman]

Great job! The picture is just magnificent!!!

[@tobidd83]

Great Job once again Trevor!

[@Bogfra1]

If I haven't already done it then here my best wishes for 2021, unfortunately I have been able to bring my material up since the end of September only once the weather in Belgium is really not easy and it looks like this is going to stay that way for a while with the result that the winter objects will pass by my nose and this for the second time in a row.

[@merseybear]

That was a beautiful shot. Well-done Trevor.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Gorgeous image Trevor. Thanks so much for your work on this one, really enjoyed it. Richard

[@joshdartist]

HOLY SMOKES... One of your best images to date... I know my next target for sure!

[@AJ-1714]

Great captures! Keep up the content

[@michaelengels2514]

Absolutely stunning

[@johnnydanger8701]

Dude…those Monster MITTENS, lol. No wonder you have to keep taking those club-hands off. Nice work!

[@steam4eva]

An amazing image Trevor, it just shows what can be created with the right equipment, patience and knowhow.

[@gfunkenator7125]

I missed out on many nights of Orion, January was either mostly cloudy, or too much snow on the ground. My yard only gives me about 3hrs to photograph Orion because of trees.

[@stevenbriggs7535]

Amazing and beautiful image so inspiring. I have a quick question about your raptor setup. What hardware have you have used to mount your finder scope to the raptor. I’m struggling to find a way to mount a red dot and guide scope to my Redcat 51.

[@SunJao]

I had the same issue. I ended up drilling M6 sized through holes in dovetail base brackets. Then I attached the base brackets to the Raptor 61 rings using M6 screws I purchased from the hardware store. The brackets have quick release screws to hold the guide scope. It is quite stable and has low flexure steady guiding.

[@azdh85224]

Stunning pic of Orion Nebula. Your videos are stellar. So motivating to all of us. Thank you so much. Happy new year to you and your family - and a special hello to Rudy! 👍🏻🔭🪐

[@otakulture2398]

I'm excited to finally get into this your videos sparked a passion in me over a year ago and that passion burns brighter then ever soon I get my first refractor telescope the Orion AstroView 120ST equatorial refracting telescope im so excited to get it but sadly its back ordered until the end of March due to covid. But I wont let that get my hopes up cause my drive to do not just astrophotography but astrophysics and more is endless :) I just wanted you to know that you changed my life and what I want to become and that I thank you for that! Keep up the fantastic videos your doing an amazing job and again thank you! :)

[@AstroFarsography]

I was struggling to get a Moon photo cus of the weather and you were able to get this banger 😂 amazing work. Nice photo. I'm one of those with really bad Orion visibility. Maybe 40 minutes when it passes through a gap in housing and that's it. Hopefully the next place I live has better south views for this. Nice shot. Incredible how different a sensor size makes for field of view though!

[@ephjaymusic]

Insane level of detail! Fantastic shots!

[@TheUrbanAstronomer]

Gets more amazing each time you capture it!

[@tomasselnekovic]

very beautiful colours, thank you Trevor for your work.

[@JeffHorne]

So freaking gorgeous!

[@williamgorham7339]

Your channel inspired me to try astrophotography for the first time with a simple Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT and a simple mount for my IPhone 11 Pro to the included 25mm eyepiece and I took my first photos of M42 the same night! I have to say seeing images like the ones you have taken have inspired me to keep improving my images. I wish you nothing but good times and clear skies my friend. Ps even the simple image I took makes the fuzzy spot you see through visual astronomy look terrible. 🌌📷🔭

[@jerrysimpson3239]

WOW! Beautiful and Fantastic Capture!

[@Nintyponds]

Just a stunning image, you inspire me.

[@stephaniebleakley5833]

Magnificent...... that's the only word to explain your final image.

[@sampkf7919]

the buildup.. and then bam... just beautiful!

[@lisaonthenet6794]

Come to Australia to see it, awesome x Thank you for sharing your brilliant pics x

[@whatnomustard]

New to it all love your videos still trying to put the right equipment together. Hope to get half the quality of yours thanks for the videos!!!!!

[@My_NameJeff]

Every Video. After Every damn video I am left awestruck! I hope to save up soon and buy some beginner gear and get into the hobby

[@Mackymcd]

Super image, phenomenal detail! Well done Trevor 👍🏻

[@bernardmiranda4051]

This is absolutely fantastic, great capture👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@Me163k]

thank you for continuing to inspire us and show us what is possible under a light polluted sky. amazing image!

[@cindymathe2519]

Wow! What a fantastic capture! This is the most detailed M42 I’ve seen. I have never seen the the dust and dark nebulae details before in a photo of this. Just Wow! I only have a Canon EOS 70 D and kit lenses and Rokinon 14 mm on a Skywatcher adventurer tracker

[@iansmith1639]

Another great video. 2 points: I lost my first dslr to dew. I attached a 12v PC fan to my second dslr and it still survives. Secondly, with the larger scope so close to your house, the light from Orion has to wobble through any convection currents rising from the house. Minor points, please keep the videos coming!

[@RL112871]

Amazing! I would say your photo and Hubble's photo compliment one another.