NGC 1977 - The Running Man Nebula

NGC 1977 (including NGC 1973 and 1975) is located in the constellation of Orion approximately one half a degree to the north of M42, the Great Orion nebula. NGC 1977, which is commonly called the "Running Man" or "Ghost" nebula, is perhaps one of the most beautiful and intriguing objects in the entire night sky. The huge area of blue reflection nebulosity is inlaid with lanes of red glowing hydrogen gas which resembles the figure of a "man" or "ghost." The huge dust lanes around the base of NGC 1977, which appear brownish in this image, owe there appearance to the reflected light of M42. Without M42 in close proximity, these dust lanes would appear black, just as the Horsehead nebula appears black. NGC 1973/75 is the main area of nebulosity. NGC 1977 is the cluster inside the nebula, and NGC 1981 is the cluster above the nebula.

Image Specifications:

     •  Instrument:  Takahashi FS-102 Refractor (820mm - f/8) with 0.8x Televue reducer
     •  Camera:  Canon 20Da
     •  Filters:  Hutech IDAS LPS (Light Pollution)
     •  Mount:  Losmandy GM-8 Equatorial
     •  Guiding:  SBIG STV Autoguider with Vixen 400mm Guidescope
     •  Time / Date :  December 20, 2007, 10:30PM EST
     •  Location:  Coyle Field, NJ
     •  Weather:  Clear, 32degF
     •  Primary Exposure :  27 x 2min, ISO 1600, RAW, average combined
     •  Calibration Frames:  16 x 2min, ISO 1600, RAW, dark frames
     •  Image Processing :  Images Plus, Photoshop CS2, NoiseNinja