Reflection Nebula (M78)
M78 is a reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion at a distance of approximately 1600 light years. While M78 is the catalogue number from Charles Messiers 19th centuries observations, it's surprising that this beautiful object does not have a more common moniker. The blue colour of the reflection nebula comes the embedded blue stars light being reflected off the dust in the image.
In the background of the image the red arcs from Barnard's loop is seen. Barnard's loop is a massive large emission nebula thought to have been the result of a supernova 2 million years ago. The loop encompasses the entire Orion constellation when viewed in a wide image of the area. This picture was taken by combining 7hrs of Luminance (Clear) filtered images with 120mins each of filtered Red, Green, and Blue to make a colour picture. This gave a total exposure of 13 hours.
Note: All our prints are printed on Baryta 325g Paper, which is an excellent paper for framing. The paper is a gloss type, which gives very vivid colour views.