Camera: Q453HR CCD Labs- One Shot Color Camera 

Total Exposure: 3.3 hours 40 x 5 min. unbinned

December 2009: Chico, California, USA 

Comments: M42 is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across.