Published in Astronomy         NGC 1977, the Running Man Nebula

NGC 1977 is one of the brightest reflection nebulas in the sky and would be much more well known if it weren't so close to the brightest nebula of all M-42. They are located in Orion and make up the "sword" part of the constellation which is easily visible without any visual aid. NGC 1977 is what appears to be the top star in the sword but really is a closely grouped cluster of several stars when viewed with low power. It gets its name from the likeness of a man running in the midst of the blue cloud of gas.

This image is a composite of two 60 minute exposures on hypered Kodak PJ 400 film. Shot with my 12.5" f/7 Newtonian.

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