So this evening was very clear skies, although the moon was out in full force. It was far enough away from Orions Belt to not have a massive impact, but still trying to capture deep sky nebula under a full moon is not so easy.

The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most recognizable objects in the night sky. This dark nebula, located in the constellation Orion, is shaped like a horse’s head, hence its name. The nebula is about 1,300 light-years away from Earth and is part of a much larger cloud of gas and dust called the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex.

The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula, which means that it is a cloud of dust and gas that is so dense that it blocks out the light from behind it. However, the nebula is also being illuminated by the nearby bright nebula IC 434. This creates a dramatic contrast between the dark dust of the Horsehead Nebula and the glowing gas of IC 434.

The Horsehead Nebula is a site of active star formation. The dark dust clouds in the nebula are collapsing under their own gravity, which is leading to the formation of new stars. These young stars are still embedded in the dust cloud, but they are starting to heat up and emit light.

This is my second time imaging this Nebula, which do you prefer, the first or the latest image?