This is my 4th attempt at Messier 78 via my Hyperstar lens system, the nebulae is a very dark and mysterious object in space positioned very close to Orion’s hot superstars. This intricate and amazing nebula lies appx 1600 light-years from Earth. Messier 78 is a reflection nebula as it doesn’t contain a lot of Ionised gas so it reflects the blue colour from those very young hot blue stars in its midst. A lot of Mystery shrouds this nebula with plenty of unexplained Dark matter obscuring the light from reaching us. like most objects in space, there is more wonder and mystery far beyond our reach.

Messier 78. Image Credit: Ronny Kaplanian

The streaks of light across the image are meteorites from the Geminids meteor shower, I kept them in the image to be seen.