IC 434 · HORSEHEAD & FLAME JAN 2026
§ DEEP-SKY · TARGET
IC 434
Horsehead & Flame
- TYPE
- Emission + dark nebula
- CONSTELLATION
- Orion
- DISTANCE
- 1,375 ly
- MAGNITUDE
- +6.8
- APPARENT SIZE
- 60' × 30'
ACQUISITION
DATE
Jan 2026
LOCATION
Joshua Tree NP, CA · Bortle 3
INTEGRATION
9h 20m
PALETTE
Ha + RGB
SUBS
560 × 60s
SEEING
2.2"
FILTERS
Ha 3nm · L · R · G · B
Barnard 33 -- the iconic silhouette -- rides the glowing hydrogen ridge of IC 434. Most of the detail people remember is actually the shape of the dark dust, not the glow behind it.
§ 01 · THE NIGHT
How this one came together
First target after rebuilding the secondary cage. Every print iteration before this one flexed under the weight of the filter wheel; the new one -- with a brass-inserted tension spider -- held alignment across a five-hour session for the first time. The photo is the proof.
§ 02 · PROCESSING
Workflow
- LRGB + Ha layered composite
- Ha blended into L at 40% for ridge contrast
- Star mask to preserve the color balance of Alnitak
- No AI smoothing on dust lanes -- at this resolution it eats the texture
§ 03 · GEAR
Equipment
- SCOPE
- Printed 200/800 Newt · OTA v2.0
- CAMERA
- ASI2600MM Pro · -10°C
- MOUNT
- EQ6-R Pro
- FILTERS
- Antlia LRGB · Antlia Ha 3nm
- GUIDING
- OAG · ASI120MM Mini