M1 The Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula has an interesting history. Key astronomers in the 18th century spotted it and Messier listed it first in his catalog of objects which should not be confused with comets. But it took until 1928 for Edwin Hubble to make the connection between this nebula and the supernova which formed it, recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054!
It is not a particularly bright or prominent object -- Messier only spotted it when actively searching the constellation Taurus for Halley's Comet. Invisible to the naked eye, it can be seen as a grey blob from a small telescope or binoculars, while astrophotography reveals a fascinating and colorful inner structure. This Narrowband image features more of the lacy inner structure than my previous attempts.
Tech stuff: Borg 71FL with 2X TV Powermate for 800mm fl (f/11)
iOptron CubePro 8200 EQ mode guided with PHD2
QHY 163 mono bin 2; 8 and 15 second exposures livestacked with SharpCap 3.2 using dark and flat subtraction, -30° C
Astronomik Ha filter 90 minutes;
Astronomk O3 filter 50 minutes;
processed with PixInsight, GIMP, and ACDSee18
Imaged over 5 nights between Feb 11 and March 8, 2019 from my yard 10 miles north of New York City as part of my ongoing exploration of ultraportable urban/suburban imaging techniques
M1 The Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula has an interesting history. Key astronomers in the 18th century spotted it and Messier listed it first in his catalog of objects which should not be confused with comets. But it took until 1928 for Edwin Hubble to make the connection between this nebula and the supernova which formed it, recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054!
It is not a particularly bright or prominent object -- Messier only spotted it when actively searching the constellation Taurus for Halley's Comet. Invisible to the naked eye, it can be seen as a grey blob from a small telescope or binoculars, while astrophotography reveals a fascinating and colorful inner structure. This Narrowband image features more of the lacy inner structure than my previous attempts.
Tech stuff: Borg 71FL with 2X TV Powermate for 800mm fl (f/11)
iOptron CubePro 8200 EQ mode guided with PHD2
QHY 163 mono bin 2; 8 and 15 second exposures livestacked with SharpCap 3.2 using dark and flat subtraction, -30° C
Astronomik Ha filter 90 minutes;
Astronomk O3 filter 50 minutes;
processed with PixInsight, GIMP, and ACDSee18
Imaged over 5 nights between Feb 11 and March 8, 2019 from my yard 10 miles north of New York City as part of my ongoing exploration of ultraportable urban/suburban imaging techniques