M42 Orion Nebula, revisited

One year ago, I made my first telescope purchase in years, a 6" inch Newtonian and an Atlas mount. Bought a DSLR camera, too. I desired to learn about digital astrophotography. As the year progressed, I found myself in a relentless pursuit of simplicity. I could have taken the high road and gone with much more expensive CCD technology and computer-based control and processing, but it just did not seem worth the expense.

Taking an approach similar to radio astronomy, short samples at high gain, has been as rewarding as I could have ever wanted. Without so much emphasis on technology, I find I'm enjoying my study of the heavens, telescopes, and astronomy just as much as I did in high school.

So in tribute, here is an unguided retake of Orion nebula, one year later.

Unguided, 176 x 15 sec JPEG frames, 1600 ASA, and noise reduction enabled.