The Running
Man Nebula - NGC
1973-75-77
Situated just North of the Great Nebula in Orion is the bright-bluish
reflection nebula known as the Running Man Nebula.
The Running Man Nebula was given this nick-name after early astronomers saw that
the bright-bluish reflection nebula surrounded a darker pinkish-coloured
emission nebula whose outline appeared like the silhouette of a running man,
particularly when observed through a telescope. The Running Man
Nebula reflects star-light back to Earth produced by the bright white-blue stars
scattered in and around the nebula. Some of these stars appear still partially
embedded in this star making nebula. The Running Man
Nebula appears to be part of the Great Nebula in Orion separated only by
a thinning of the nebula (lower right area of image - South) which divides the
two nebulae into separate celestial objects.
| Image Details | 20061118 Running Man Nebula NGC 1977 |
| Telescope | 12-inch f/5 GSO Newtonian telescope. |
| Guiding | hand guided with 4.5-inch guide-scope. |
| Camera |
Canon EOS 300D Digital - Hα enabled. |
| Exposures | 8 x
180sec images @ ISO400 dark frame, bias, and flat fielded. |
| Total Exposure time | 24-minutes. |
| Filter/equipment | Used Baader Multi-purpose Coma Corrector. |
| Sky Conditions | Seeing: 7/10. Wind: 0/10. Moisture: 1/10 Hazy |
| Ambient Temperature | 23°C |
| Processing | Iris, Photoshop, Noiseware CE. |
(C) Copyright 2006 Paul Mayo.
paulm@skylab.com.au