Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Canis Major (CMa)  ·  Contains:  16 omi01 CMa  ·  LBN 1052  ·  Sh2-308  ·  The star ο1CMa
Dolphin of the South, Jeff Coldrey
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Dolphin of the South

Dolphin of the South, Jeff Coldrey
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Dolphin of the South

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Description

The Canis Major constellation is probably best known for the brightest star in our night skies (Sirius), and the magnificent Thor's Helmet emission nebula. Like Thor's Helmet, the Dolphin nebula is ionised by a massive Wolf-Rayet star in a brief pre-supernova phase of its evolution. The nebula was formed about 70,000 years ago and has not always resembled a dolphin. It has been suggested that at around 10,000 after its initial formation, the nebula may have resembled a wombat!

This is my first time imaging this faint southern nebula which spans 0.6 degrees (slightly larger than the moon). It's barely discernible in RGB images in blue/green, but pops-out strongly with the use of an OIII filter.

This attempt uses RGB for star colours, and OIII which has been blended into the blue channel (plus a tad to the green). I still need to capture some Ha data when the clouds permit.

Thanks for looking, and CS!

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Dolphin of the South, Jeff Coldrey