Desert Astronomer

Sunday Skies ✦ Captured by Brendan Mitchell | Processed by Luke Shepherd Desert Astronomer

M42, the Orion Nebula, is one of the most studied and recognisable regions in the night sky. Located roughly 1,350 light years away, it’s an active stellar nursery where new stars are forming within vast clouds of gas and dust.

At the core of the nebula sits the Trapezium Cluster, a group of young, massive stars whose intense radiation is energising the surrounding gas. The glowing reds trace hydrogen, while the blues and greens reveal oxygen-rich regions shaped by stellar winds and radiation pushing outward through the cloud.

In this widefield view, the surrounding dust becomes just as important as the bright core. Dark lanes of cold material weave through the field, while faint emission and reflection structures extend well beyond the central nebula highlighting the complexity of this region that often gets lost in tighter crops.

Captured using a fast widefield system and mapped in a Foraxx narrowband combination, this image balances the strong core with the surrounding structure, revealing both the intensity and the subtle detail across the Orion complex.

Rokinon 135mm f/2 (Starpoint Lens Carrier)
QHY268M | Sky-Watcher EQ6-R | Starpoint Focus Controller
Antlia 4.5nm Narrowband EDGE Filters
Foraxx Narrowband

Total integration: 8 hrs
SII 300s × 30 | Ha 300s × 36 | OIII 300s × 30

NGC6188 Fighting Dragons of Ara
It’s wild to see what’s possible now that processing tools have come so far.

Reprocessed the Dragons of Ara from scratch to see what these newer tools could really pull out.

Most people go for the classic blue/gold look, but I’ve been leaning toward a workflow that keeps more of the natural colour variation in the dust. Harder to get right, but it feels more real than just slapping on a preset.

Which do you prefer — this wider spectrum or the classic Hubble look?

Equipment:
Telescope 🔭: Skywatcher 10” CF Newtonian
Corrector: TS-Wynne 68 coma corrector
Camera 📷: QHY268M
Filters: Antlia 4.5nm Narrowband filters
Mount: Skywatcher NEQ6 hypertuned

✨ 🌌 Throwback to almost 2 years ago when I captured the breathtaking Messier 16, also known as the Eagle Nebula and home to the iconic Pillars of Creation. 🌠🔭 I recently revisited this celestial wonder and made significant improvements in my astrophotography skills and equipment. The difference is truly night and day! Swipe to see the progress. Looking forward to more nights under the stars and capturing even more cosmic marvels. 🌌 ✨
Sky-Watcher Australia

Equipment
Mount: NEQ6 Hypertuned by Starpoint Australis
🔭: Skywatcher 10” F4 Quattro CF @ F3.62 with TS-Wynne 68
📷: QHY268M @ Gain 56 Offset 50 HGM
Filters: Antlia 4.5nm SHO and LRGB Pro 36mm filters
Programs: Pixinsight, Photoshop CC and Lightroom