| Description | Frankly, 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. |
