My astrophotography – Barnard’s Loop

Barnard’s Loop

  • Appears as a giant red arc in long‑exposure images – too faint for the naked eye except under extremely dark skies.
    o
  • Part of the same star‑forming ecosystem as the Orion Nebula, Horsehead Nebula, Flame Nebula, and M78.

  • Object Name
    Barnard’s Loop

  • Object Type
    Emission Nebula

  • Constellation
    Orion

  • Magnitude
    n/a

  • Distance
    1,400 light‑years

  • Annotated

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Equipment

Telescope:

Mount:

Accessories:

Sky-Watcher Esprint 80ED Triplet

Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT

ZWO ASIair Plus / PixInsight

Camera:

Guiding:

Filter:

ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooling

ZWO ASI1200MM

2″ Optolong eNchance

Bortle Scale: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire (Bortle 6.6)


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Integration

  • Date:
    Tuesday 17th March 2026
  • Moonlit:
    Wanning Crescent 28 days old
    Magnitude: -8.57
    Moonlit: 0.59%
  • Total:
    180’s x 25 subs = 1 hour 25 minutes

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Constellation :- Orion (The Hunter)

Object :-

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Object :-

Designations :-

Type :-

Magnitude :

Distance :-

Constellation :-

Right Ascension :-

Declination :-

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Barnard’s Loop

Sh2-276

Emission Nebula

n/a

1,400 light years / 360 light years long

Ori (Orion / The Hunter)

05h 27m 05s

-03° 58′ 10″

Enlarge on click the map.

(Click the map above for a large view.)

Abbreviation:  Ori
English Name:  The Hunter
Genitive: Betelgeuse
Hemisphere: Northern and Southern Hemisphere. (Bold means the more area in square feet in Southern Hemisphere.)
Location: Between the constellations of Monoceros and Eridanus.
Visible between latitudes:  +90 and -40 degrees
Best season: Winter
Seen in three seasons: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Best seen in:  January (map) and February (map)
Seen between: November and early March
Right Ascension (RA): 05 hour
Declination (DEC): +05 degrees
Area (square degrees):  594 (26th)

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Facts about Barnard’s Loop

  • Barnard’s Loop is a huge arc of red gas in Orion – about the same size as 20 Full Moons side‑by‑side
    o
  • Barnard’s Loop is an arc because we see only the bright edge of a giant bubble of gas made by old supernova blasts.

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