Orion's Mist

Just south of Orion's Belt, the bright nebula Orion is visible with the naked eye in a dark sky. For me one of the compelling features of the Orion Nebula are the wispy clouds of dust that surround the nebular core. The cloudy streaks give the impression of movement, like smoke or mist moving with the wind. I composed this image to highlight a beautiful portion of that dusty perimeter where the faint nebular clouds appear to be flowing rivulets converging at the core.
 
24 hours total exposure of RGB visible light plus ionized hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur emissions