Caught something in a photo

[Busy]

Hey all, I'm a bit new to this hobby and decided id go out and take a few photos the other day. When looking through the photos I caught, I found something and just didn't know what it was, didn't know if any of you could lend a hand in figuring this one out. You'll have to excuse the star trails and crap camera quality but I tried my best to highlight the area in question.

https://ibb.co/qn8656G
https://ibb.co/jrgp8JY
https://ibb.co/4V6fXzN
https://ibb.co/SKdFNHQ

Side note - I'll put image links in case the attachments don't work. Thanks for any help that's given!

[Lady Fraktor]

Hello Busy, it looks like you either have a reflection or a bit nebulosity from high clouds.
Either that your you managed to spot a Klingon battle cruiser.

[KathyNS]

Welcome to the forum, @Busy!

What you have is an image of the Orion Nebula, M-42. Congratulations! Here is my recent image of it cropped and rotated to match yours.

The upper bright streak in your image is a trailed version of the Trapezium group. The lower streak is from the three stars in a row which just happens to be oriented the same direction as your trails. The distinctive identifying feature that gave me the clue to the object's identity was the dark dust cloud pointed at the Trapezium.

[Busy]

Thanks so much man! that's sick, planning on going out again tonight, I'll try and catch another photo of this

[gcisko]

Thanks so much man! that's sick, planning on going out again tonight, I'll try and catch another photo of this

Hello. I am wondering if you could tell us the direction in the sky the picture was taken - and the exact date/time/location? It could be M-42, but doesn't hurt to double check just for fun :-)

[KathyNS]

Hello. I am wondering if you could tell us the direction in the sky the picture was taken - and the exact date/time/location? It could be M-42, but doesn't hurt to double check just for fun :-)

Sound advice in general. But in this case, there is no doubt. The match between the images was exact when overlaid at 50% transparency.

[Sky]

The nebulosity in each image is the Sword of Orion (M42). The center of the wide-field image is RA 5h 37' 42.07" and Dec -07º 19' 26.35" using plate solving.

[Busy]

Hey everyone, sorry didn't get a chance to look at the rest of these reply as I've had a lot on my plate, I did however end up catching a few more pictures of this, this time with a bit better of a camera, still could use some work but I think it's progress (also tried stacking them and doing some post processing in gimp this time) I've tried to link the photo hopefully it comes through. Thanks again for all the help!

[Lady Fraktor]

That looks much better and a nice image

[Busy]

Thanks man! it's a start for sure, I borrowed my buddy's canon t6 to take it trying to get an idea for what I might get for a next camera as right now I'm rocking a rebel xti. Was also looking at a canon 60d from what I've seen they can be good as well, any thoughts on which way I should go?

[Lady Fraktor]

I cannot recommend a camera since I only put eyepieces in my telescopes
Others will be along that will make good recommendations though.

[Busy]

Ahh alright, well thanks for all the help man, I've found a new hobby to spend my money on

[Lady Fraktor]

Truer words have not been spoken.
You have just fallen down the rabbit hole of AP, enjoy the trip and mind your head

[JayTee]

You have just fallen down the rabbit hole of AP, enjoy the trip and mind your head

Let the free fall begin. Don't worry, we're here to help.

Nice image BTW. Just keep going with a DSLR for now. My continuing recommendation for a DSLR (if you don't own one) is a Canon T3i. They can be had nowadays for less than $300 gently used. Also, be prepared that this is not a cheap journey! There are economical practices in some areas of AP, but if long-exposure images are your goal, start saving now!

Cheers,

[Busy]

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to check that one out.

[Petrol]

I think it's so cool when you find you have taken a picture like this. Absolutely awesome! Good luck on your AP journey but don't fall down the rabbit hole. It's best to keep it fun.
Thanks for sharing
Clear skies
Pete