Explore Scientific ED127 127mm f/7.5 Air-Spaced Triplet Apochromatic Refractor Telescope ( TOP SELLER )

“The great glowing irregular cloud, shining by the gleaming light of the diamond-like stars entangled in it, makes a marvelous spectacle which is unequalled anywhere else in the sky.”
—   Astronomer Robert Burnham, Jr.

(From Burnham’s Celestial Handbook Volume Two)

In the midst of the sword that branches off of Orion’s famous belt, a tumultuous saga of star formation is unfolding.

Lit by the glow of the newborn stars nestled in its wispy embrace, the Orion Nebula is a stunning stellar nursery that has been studied, documented and revered for centuries.
 
Unlike the vast majority of deep sky objects, this brilliant celestial beauty is both bright enough and close enough to be seen with the naked eye — although it will only appear as a slightly foggy star. To truly explore some of the more awe-inspiring features that have made it a legend, you will need a telescope.
 
By offering 5 inches of unobstructed viewing, the Explore Scientific ED APO 127mm Triplet can significantly close the more than 1,300-light year gap between ourselves and this magnificent showpiece. This scope’s rich, high contrast views of the Orion Nebula will show that it is so much more than a foggy star. It is a glowing cocoon teeming with billowing gas and dust where stars and even planetary systems are being born.

So, what can you discover about the Orion Nebula at the eyepiece of the ED127?

One of the first features to explore is the tightknit open star cluster known as the Trapezium. Although it appears as one brilliant mass to the unaided eye, this close community of stars has several distinguishable members that pop to life in the ED127. At the core of the Trapezium lies a quartet of star systems that form the cluster’s signature trapezoidal asterism. The largest and most luminous of these is Theta-1 Orionis C. This huge binary powerhouse shines as brightly as 210,000 Suns and is largely responsible for the beautiful glow at the heart of Orion’s Nebula.

In addition to providing illumination, Theta-1 Orionis C and its close companions are producing intense stellar winds that have a profound impact on the nebula. These fast-moving streams of protons, electrons and other particles pierce the surrounding veil of dust and gas and manipulate it into flowing ridgelines and revealing voids. The ED127 will show a few of the most prominent of these sculpted features, which hint at the nebula’s turbulent nature.

The Orion Nebula is a truly spectacular celestial beauty filled with inspiring sights. As you explore its curving lines, gossamer webs and brilliant stellar inhabitants, you can envision the chaos of creation that is happening within. This is where stars are blazing to life. This is where the seeds of future solar systems are manifesting in protoplanetary disks. This is where the action is happening, and the ED127 can put you right in the midst of it.

The above image of Orion's Nebula was shot on Jan 31, 2016 by Steve Siedentop with his ED127 APO Triplet Carbon Fiber (exactly the same optics and mechanics but with a carbon fiber tube) and 2' Field Flattener. He used a Canon modified T2i using Backyard EOS, PHD. He shot 8 - 5 minute Light exposures at ISO400 and 15 - 5 minute Dark exposures at ISO400. The images were processed in PixInsight. 

Steve says "I have to confess that I didn’t spend a ton of time acquiring data because I was just testing out the scope/reducer configuration for the first time and didn't know what to expect.  The fact that I was able to produce an image with this level of detail in just 40 minutes is of great merit to the ED127CF and .7 Reducer combination."