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Orion Wide-field Perhaps the most famous constellation of all, Orion the Hunter is seen in both northern and southern hemispheres. Its bright stars make it easy to recognize, and the abundance of nebulas within it and in the adjoining constellations around it make it a hunting ground for visual observers and astrophotographers alike. The golden star Betelgeuse and the bright blue star Rigel herald its rising; and the "belt and sword" stars point to the brightest and most beautiful nebulas in all the skies. Along with all the well-known objects such as M-42 and the Horse head and Flame nebulas, Barnards' loop is conspicuous as a semicircle of nebulosity at the lower part of this image and a tiny blue M-78 is seen below and left of Alnitak, not far from Barnard's loop. A very faint witch-head nebula (IC2118) is seen above Rigel. This image is a composite of 2 thirty minute exposures on Kodak E200 film. They were made with a Pentax 67-165mm f/2.8 lens stopped down to f/5.6.
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