M43 / NGC 1982

NameDe Mairan's Nebula
Designation(s)M43, NGC 1982
Object Type(s)Emission Nebula
Relevant Catalog(s)All (Chron), Messier, NGC
Obs. Lat/Long42° 17', 073° 57'
ConstellationOrion
Date and Time Observed2023-02-18 23:43:00
InstrumentEvo 9.25" w/f6.3 reducer-approx 1,500mm FL
CameraASI294mc-Pro
Image DetailsUp is 21.7 degrees E of N. Total integration time was 16 40s. Exposures 10s@350g. Darks and Flats subtracted. No guiding.
DescriptionFrankly, I didn't know this bulb on top of M42 had its own Messier number. M42 has a long history as it's really a naked eye object, but the nebulosity was discovered in the 17th century. M43 was described some time before 1731, and catalogued by Messier in 1769. The boundary separating it from M42 is the "northeast dust lane". This image shows it well, though my original target was M42 (see wide view). At the time the only telescope I owned was the EVO 9.25, and this was the widest view I could achieve at the time, focal length of roughly 1,500mm using a reducer. All my recent observations have been much wider: 180mm to 270mm, since I generally prefer a wide view of the M42 complex. Anyway, at the time I completed this observation, it was one of my all time favorite EAA observations. I've always thought it resembled one of the non-edible berries on bushes from my childhood, which I discover now is an English Yew Tree.... see gallery.
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