At QuinStar, we’re about more than millimeter-wave technology. The people comprising QuinStar pursue diverse and exciting outside interests.

Our Chief Engineer, Jim Schellenberg, is a highly skilled amateur astronomical photographer. He captured this beautiful image of the Orion nebula using a specially modified Canon 6D. The camera responds to the H-alpha spectral line at 656 nm (from hydrogen gas), which is seen as red in the photo. The camera is mounted on an 11-inch telescope that tracks the object as the earth rotates. This image consists of nine one-minute exposures that are “stacked” to form the image you see.

This is an excellent time of the year to view the Orion nebula. It can be seen with the naked eye as a hazy patch below the 3 stars forming Orion’s belt. In January it is at an elevation of about 45 degrees in the southern skies at 9-10 pm. The Orion nebula, consisting of a huge cloud of hydrogen gas, is an area of intense star birth with perhaps a 1,000 or more newly formed stars. It is roughly 1,300 light-years from earth.

This photo is especially notable because it was taken from Huntington Beach—with all its light pollution and haze.