Messier 78 (also known as M78 or NGC 2068) is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in a group that includes NGC 2064, NGC 2067, and NGC 2071, all part of the Orion B molecular cloud complex. Located approximately 1,350 light-years from Earth, M78 is visible in small telescopes as a hazy patch illuminated by two B-type stars, HD 38563 A and HD 38563 B, of 10th and 11th magnitude.
The nebula's dust cloud reflects light from its two central stars, making it visible. Infrared observations reveal an embedded star cluster and a hierarchy of gas clumps with core masses ranging from 0.3 M☉ to 5 M☉.
M78 hosts: 45 T Tauri stars (young stellar objects still forming) and 17 Herbig–Haro objects (jets emitted by nascent stars).
| Object | M78 Reflection Nebula |
| Constellation: | Orion |
| Position: | RA 05h 46m 46s DEC 00° 04' 45'' |
| Apparent Size: | 8 x 6 arcmins |
| Apparent Magnitude: | 8.3 |
| Distance in light years: | 1350 ly |
| Photo Data | |
| Date: | 14 Nov - 07 Dec 2023 |
| Location: |
El Sauce Observatory Chile (1525m ASL) GPS: 30.472529° S, 70.762999° W |
| Telescope: | CHI-1-CMOS: Planewave CDK24 610 mm, f/d 6.5/3962mm |
| Camera: | QHY 600M Pro, 3.76μm, 9576 x 6382px, Bin-2 4788x3191px, @ T sensor = -15°C |
| Field of View: | 31x21 arcmins |
| Pixel Scale/Resolution: | 0.19 arcsec/px |
| Expose frames/times: | L 26x300s, R 24x300s, G 27x300s, B 26x300s |
| Total expose: | 8h 35min |
| Filter: | Astrodon Luminance, Red, Green, Blue |
| Mount: | Mathis MI-1000/1250 with absolute encoders |
| Software: | Siril 1.4, Photoshop CC |
| Remarks: |
© Photos by Peter Cerveny
© Object description/intro text fully or partially by Wikipedia,
which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License