M 42

Here is a first “test” picture of the Orion Nebula (M42). This is  - besides Moon - my first astrophoto. Taken in my Noordwijk garden on 22 March 2011 with the WO 110 FLT Triplet APO, field flattener, and the Canon EOS 450D in prime focus. Exposure was 5 minutes, no filter. Clearly, the alignment of the CGEM mount is not good at all, and I did not guide (no off-axis guider or auto-guider yet) as there are significant star trails. But, the diffuse gas nebula and even some hints of colours can be clearly seen. 

The Orion nebula M42 is a large emission nebula, largely hydrogen, and part of the Orion molecular cloud complex OMC-1, located below the Orion belt. M42 is a very bright gas nebula and is clearly visible to the naked eye. At a distance of only 414 pc (1350 light-years), M42 is an active star formation region.