How to photograph the Orion & Barnard’s Loop (Sh2-276)
The whole constellation of Orion with its huge arc of red nebulosity.
Photo byHewholooks(CC BY-SA 3.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Orion & Barnard’s Loop
With a 24-50mm lens on a star tracker, you can capture Barnard’s Loop, the Orion and Horsehead nebulae and the Lambda Orionis ring in one frame. It is a good winter target for a camera and lens.
Gear and framing
The Orion & Barnard’s Loop spans about 15° of sky. It frames best with:
- Wide lens (14-50mm on a camera)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This target glows in emission lines and also has broadband detail. Unfiltered color frames under dark skies give the most natural colors. A dual-band filter lets you shoot it from the city or with the Moon up.
Tips
- A modified camera or a clip-in hydrogen filter makes Barnard’s Loop much stronger.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.