IC 434 and the Horsehead nebula

Constellation: Orion

IC 434 is a bright emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. It is located about 1’260 Ly away and spans about 42 x 85 Ly. This is an H II region ionized by the nearby σ Ori multi-star system (located to the West outside of the field of view). The two brightest stars in the image are the young stellar objects HD 37805 (N) and HD 37699 (W).

The Horsehead nebula is a dark nebula that stands out against the diffuse background of IC 434. It is protruding from the Orion B molecular cloud, which is part of the Orion molecular cloud complex.

NE of the Horsehead is part of NGC 2023. Link to interactive sky chart and related images.

Dates:

This is derived from the outstanding data taken by Martin Pugh in December 2025 and January 2026 (Martin’s website: Remote Astrophotography with Martin Pugh (martinpughastrophotography.space).

His telescope is located in Chile (Observatory: El Sauce).

Colour palette is HaLRGB.

Telescope & Mount:

Planewave CDK24 on a Planewave L600 mount.

Imaging:

Camera: Moravian C3-61000 (bin 2×2)

Data:
Astrodon Ha: 24x600s
Astrodon L: 17x300s
Astrodon R: 18x300s
Astrodon G: 18x300s
Astrodon B: 18x300s

Total integration time: 8h 25′