The Orion Nebula, or Messier 42 (M42), is a diffuse nebula in the Milky Way, located south of Orion's Belt in the constellation Orion. Visible to the naked eye with a magnitude of 4.0, it lies 1,344 ± 20 light-years away and is the closest massive star-forming region to Earth. Spanning 24 light-years and containing a mass 2,000 times that of the Sun, it is also known historically as the Great Nebula in Orion.

My first light with the Redcat 51! Since I don’t have a cooled camera, I decided to try my planetary camera, the ASI 678MC. With its small field of view, I opted for a 2x2 mosaic, capturing 60 x 20-second exposures per panel. No calibration frames were used. Imaging from a Bortle 6–7 location, I’m quite pleased with the result. I’m saving up for the ASI 2600, but for now, I’m happy with what I’ve achieved!