Orion Nebula M42 at the Joshua Tree National Park - 11-2-15

I recently went to the Joshua Tree National Park and snapped some amazing pictures of the Orion Nebula M42. If you have never been to the Joshua Tree National Park I highly recommend it. It is a stones throw away from the Coachella Valley and it offers some of the best night sky views in the area. We usually end up at the southern entrance and camp in the Cottonwood campground, but this time we traveled much deeper into the park and stayed at the Jumbo Rock campground. The views of the Milky Way are fantastic here, and the light pollution from the surrounding areas was at a minimum. It was a much colder night than we anticipated, and the wind was a big factor, but the sky was clear so we had that going for us. The Joshua Tree National Park is home to all kinds of Astronomy related activities, such as star parties, and guided night tours of the desert. You really should check it out sometime.

Without further ado, here is the picture of the lovely Orion Nebula M42 at the Joshua Tree National Park...

Equipment used: Celestron Nexstar 6SE + Galaxy Note 5 -- 10 sec exposure 800 iso