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Description
The Tarantula Nebula is one of the very few nebulae located outside of the Milky Way that can be observed by amateur equipment. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, some 160,000 light years away. Despite this incredible distance, the nebula shines intensely, and as such can still be seen even from our vantage point on Earth.

This object is not as widely photographed as it probably should, due to its location in the far southern sky. It is not visible to most in the northern hemisphere, as it barely rises above the horizon (or even not at all). Even from my location just a mere 1 degree North of the Equator, this object only rises to a maximum of 30 degrees above the horizon, and as such is a challenge to image. Additionally, due to heavy city light pollution, it is perpetually shrouded in a strong orange glow which requires heavy filtering.

So here it is, the result of over 3 hours of exposure, bringing to you one of the few extragalactic nebulae

Imaging details:
Location: Singapore
Date(s): Jan & Feb 19
Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 GTX at f/4.5
Camera: Atik 16200M, Baader & Chroma Filters
Mount: Losmandy G11/G2
Exposure (min): HII - 135, OIII - 60

Description
The Tarantula Nebula is one of the very few nebulae located outside of the Milky Way that can be observed by amateur equipment. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, some 160,000 light years away. Despite this incredible distance, the nebula shines intensely, and as such can still be seen even from our vantage point on Earth.

This object is not as widely photographed as it probably should, due to its location in the far southern sky. It is not visible to most in the northern hemisphere, as it barely rises above the horizon (or even not at all). Even from my location just a mere 1 degree North of the Equator, this object only rises to a maximum of 30 degrees above the horizon, and as such is a challenge to image. Additionally, due to heavy city light pollution, it is perpetually shrouded in a strong orange glow which requires heavy filtering.

So here it is, the result of over 3 hours of exposure, bringing to you one of the few extragalactic nebulae

Imaging details:
Location: Singapore
Date(s): Jan & Feb 19
Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 GTX at f/4.5
Camera: Atik 16200M, Baader & Chroma Filters
Mount: Losmandy G11/G2
Exposure (min): HII - 135, OIII - 60