Messier 97 Owl Nebula [Robotic, NM]

Messier 97 is a planetary nebula in Ursa Major estimated to be about 2600 light years away.

 

The 16th magnitude central star is about 0.7 solar masses and is a remnant white dwarf having shed its outer layers about 6000 years ago based on the expansion of the nebula and then working backwards.

 

The nebula has a mass of about 0.15 solar masses.

 

Our own Sun may eventually meet a fate like this.

 

The remnant white dwarf has a surface temperature in the tens of thousands of degrees and glows brightly in UV causing fluorescence of oxygen (green-blue) and hydrogen (red) in the nebula.

 

36 x 6 minute exposures. Processed and drizzled in PixInsight

 

iTelescope T3

 

Takahashi 150/1095mm refractor

SBIG CCD camera 2048 x 2048 pixels.

 

Image centred on:

 

RA: 11h 14m 49.475s

Dec: +55d 01m 5.361s

 

Field of view 33.4 x 34.1 arcminute

 

Image scale 0.69 arcsec/pxl

 

Done