Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Taurus (Tau)  ·  Contains:  M 1  ·  NGC 1952
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M 1, Tom Harrison
M 1
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M 1, Tom Harrison
M 1
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Description

DETAILS: Imaged at f9 with a 12.5" RC Optical Systems Truss Telescope mounted on a Paramount ME Robotic mount, using an ST-10XME SBIG camera and Tru-Balance filters. LRGB:110:30:30:40 minutes. Luminance is unbinned. RGB: 40:40:40 minutes binned 2. Aligned in RegiStar, and processed in MaxIm DL and Photoshop. Luminance acquired 92304, and RGB on 101704.

COMMENTARY: The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant of glowing gases and plasma expanding from a cataclysmic explosion of a star fifteen times more massive than our own sun. This supernova explosion was observed and reported by Chinese astronomers in 1054 A.D. Being relatively close, 6,500 light-years, and so massive an explosion, it shone as bright as Venus in the daytime sky for 23 days. The Crab Nebula is located in the Constellation Taurus, and at its center is a rapidly-spinning, city-sized neutron star as massive as the sun. It is a spectacular object to image in color. High-speed winds and shock waves fill the turbulent inner region, as bright wisps expand at half the speed of light. The neutron star (pulsar) generates huge electrical voltages that accelerate matter and anti-matter particles outward along its equator, and create the shock waves.

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M 1, Tom Harrison