The Western Veil NGC6960

Further testing of the Astro Tech AT130-EDT APO Refractor with RainbowAstro-RST-400 EQ Mount captured using QHY23 Mono CCD

More about my experience with the AT130-EDT on Cloudy Nights

www.cloudynights.com/topic/511705-first-light-image-at-13...

The operator messed up using the compression ring to attach the Reducer/Flattener first time around resulting in some distorted stars so I decided to re shoot and this time I used the correct screw thread attachment on the reducer/flattener for attaching to the AT Focuser. Earlier shoot from August 16th can be seen here www.flickr.com/photos/terryhancock/20926623856/in/datepos...

Captured from The Wessling Observatory in Fremont, Western Michigan under Bortle 4.0 skies, seeing conditions when I captured this last Sunday night were only average (3 out of 5)

Just a few 5 minute exposures in LRGB and 1.25 hours in H-Alpha, if time and the weather permits I would like to go deeper on this object.



Total Integration Time 2.5 hours

Image details

Location: Wessling Observatory, Fremont MI

Dates of Shoot: September 5th, 2015

LRGB 4 x 300

H-Alpha 3 x 600, 3 x 900

Total Integration Time 2.5 hours

Equipment

Optics: Astro Tech AT130 @ F5.6

QHY23 monochrome CCD cooled to -20C

RainbowAstro RST-400 EQ Mount

Image Acquisition: Maxim DL, Processing, calibration and Stacking: CCDStack, Post Processing: PS CS5

The Western Veil, part of the larger Cygnus Loop is a supernova remnant; the expanding cloud of diverse elements created in the most powerful of explosions; a supernova.

As a Massive star nears the end of its life, it runs out of hydrogen fuel and begins fusing helium. After exhausting its supply of helium it begins to fuse heavier elements until finally, the star's core can no longer exert enough outward pressure and it collapses. A shockwave rebounds through the star so fierce that the star is shredded and leaves behind a small but extremely dense body; either a neutron star or a black hole.

The progenitor of this supernova remnant exploded more than 5,000 years ago and over the course of the past 5 millennia, the material has been racing away in all directions. The Cygnus loop now occupies a vast region of sky, equal to 36 full moons!

A Supernova seeds the interstellar medium with all types of heavy elements. In fact, every single atom of elements heavier than iron was created in this type of event, including many in your own body.