Orion and all that is around it

This photo has been in the making for nearly 2 years. A pic taken by Amr Abdulwahab on 1/1/23 (https://ecp.earthsky.org/community-photos/entry/54832/) was the inspiration for my learning enough to be able to take this kind of pic. Thank you Amr.

This is the first time I have used pics taken over multiple nights (something that is not that hard to do once you start to understand the ASI gear I am now using). I was very fortunate on the first night on the last pic of night to capture a meteor in the pic. This was composited into the stack of 35 10 minute exposures.

If you look closely in the center you will see the 3 stars that make up Orion's belt. Then you can orient yourself to the rest of the constellation. What was exciting also besides including all the nebulosity in Barnard's Loop plus the well known nebulae close to the belt was being able to see the Rosette Nebula and the Witches Head Nebula as well. I think next year I will try this pic at 70mm or perhaps like Amr did to make a nightscope.

It turned out that using the Antlia Quad Band filter was the key to getting this pic.

What a challenge and a joy astrophotography can be.

Canon R full spec with Antlia Quad filter, Canon 70-200L@81mmf4.5,
35 10 minute exposures
AM5/ASIair, Askar 32 + ASI120mini for guiding

Affinity Photo 2 to stack/process, Starnet2 to separate stars