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NGC 1981      

NGC 1981 is a large, bright open cluster forming the top part of the "sword" hanging from Orion's belt. Its prominent 8 brightest stars form a rough "W" shape. It contains around 20 stars in all spread over an area of around 28 arc-min. It lies at a distance of around 1300 LY.
Lying just a degree north of the famous Orion Nebula (M 42), NGC 1981 is often overlooked by observers. With an apparent magnitude of 4.2, it is visible to the naked eye and is a nice object for binocular viewing. The brightest stars in the cluster are blue-white supergiants ranging in magnitude from 6 to 8. As you move south from the cluster, the brighter stars start showing signs of nebulosity associated with the molecular cloud of which M 42 is a part.

Date(s) Acquired: 28 January 2017
Telescope: Orion 120mm EON Apochromatic Refractor
Camera: QSI Model 583

 

   Exposure Time (min) 
   Number of Exposures
   RGB
   1.5
   Hα
   -
   Hβ
   -
   OIII
   -
   RGB
   16
   Hα
   0
   Hβ
   0
   OIII
   0

 

Processing:
Master red, green, and blue images created using SuperSIAM.
Color composite image created using Basic Processing Procedure III.
Color composite image contrast-stretched using Adobe Photoshop.




 

 

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