Messier 1 (a.k.a. NGC 1952) commonly referred to as the Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus and is approximately 6300 light years from us. It is 11 light-years in diameter and expanding at a rate of 1500 km per second. M1 is very popular among amateurs and professionals, however, this is only my second time on it - the first was over four years ago. Also, I am not sure I see any crab.
Chinese and Arab astronomers recorded the supernova event in the summer of 1054. I can only wonder if they were more scared or curious. Fortunately some more learned observers described it as a "guest star" that was brighter than Venus and visible in the daytime for several weeks. It is believed the Anasazi (native Americans in the southwest) recorded it in a wall painting in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.
The star that exploded as a supernova is referred to as the supernova's progenitor star. This occurs when the star uses up its fuel to produce nuclear fusion and the core collapse which produces a fierce explosion. Mass estimates, chemical composition, and the presence of a pulsar suggest the progenitor star to be 8-11 times the mass of our own sun. The psychedelic looking multicolor filaments which make up the nebula are remnants of the star’s atmosphere and consist mainly of ionized helium and hydrogen, however, other elements such carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, neon, and sulfur are also present.
This was captured with narrowband filters (hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur) which accounts for the weird colors but they allow for much more detail to be highlighted. I did collect natural data using red, green, and blue filters for the stars.
This image is much more detailed than my image for four years ago which is good as I have much better equipment. There is a dim stream pointing upwards on the top edge (midway) that I thought was really interesting. I would have cropped it more but I already cropped past my usual limit. For comparison, the full moon is 30 arcminutes across and the Crab Nebula is only 6 arcminutes. Overall I am happy with the results of the AT115 refractor and ZWO ASI1600 pairing on this object although a larger scope would be preferential.
Dates: 12-22, 12-23, 12, 26, 12-29, 12-31, 1-2, 1-7, 1-8
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, OIII, SII, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 70 x 240, OIII 61 x 240, SII 62 x 240, R 30 x 90, G 30 x 90, B 30 x 90
Offset 21
Temp: 0 C
Processing: APT, NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.
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