Fall of Troy

This is without a doubt one of my favorite regions of the night sky.

You have clouds of impenetrable darkness, stars cold and dying, stars bright and young, burning emission nebulae, blazing crucibles. The beauty and chaos reminds me of a mythical battlefield.

Many have fallen. Many will come after. And a dark horse rises from the blood-hewn stars, hiding a terrible secret.

Astronomers are obsessed with this part of the sky because it contains all our favorite nebula types. Emission nebulae, which glow bright red, or reflection nebulae where blue starlight is reflected off clouds of dust. It also contains dark nebulae, like the head of the horse itself, a dusty silhouette against the glowing plasma all around.

When it comes to gas composition and tonal range, this nebula truly has it all.

Acquisition Details:

The Horsehead nebula is a dark nebula located in Orion’s Belt, approximately 1,375 light-years from Earth. Several bright emission nebulae burn nearby, along with soft blue reflection nebulae and tremendously bright stars as well.

I captured this image over the course of several nights from the Gulf Coast of Florida using my Esprit 120 apochromatic refracting telescope. My aim, both with my sci-fi novels and my astrophotography, is to transport you to another world.