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M1 V4a crop, Stephen Duffy

M1 V4a crop

M1 V4a crop, Stephen Duffy

M1 V4a crop

Description

In 1054, Chinese astronomers took notice of a “guest star” that was, for nearly a month, visible in the daytime sky. The “guest star” they observed was actually a supernova explosion, which gave rise to the Crab Nebula, a six-light-year-wide remnant of the violent event.
With an apparent magnitude of 8.4 and located 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus, the Crab Nebula can be spotted with a small telescope and is best observed in January. The nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Bevis in 1731, and later observed by Charles Messier who mistook it for Halley’s Comet. Messier’s observation of the nebula inspired him to create a catalog of celestial objects that might be mistaken for comets.
The colors in this image do not match exactly what we would see with our eyes but yield insight into the composition of this spectacular stellar corpse. The reddish filaments are the tattered remains of the star and consist mostly of hydrogen. The blue in the filaments in the outer part of the nebula represents neutral oxygen. These (and other) elements were expelled during the supernova explosion.
A rapidly spinning neutron star (the ultra-dense core of the exploded star) is embedded in the center of the Crab Nebula. The neutron star, like a lighthouse, ejects twin beams of radiation that make it appear to pulse 30 times per second as it rotates. Text from NASA\Goddard

Taken from Santa Rosa CA, December 2018
Mount: Paramount MYT Scope: Skywatcher MN190 Camera: QSI683
L:R:G:B:Ha:O3 3h: 1.5h: 1.5h: 1.5h: 4.5h: 4.5h
Reprocessed March 2023

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M1 V4a crop, Stephen Duffy

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Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society
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