M1

The Crab Nebula, Messier 1 (M1, NGC 1952), is the most famous and conspicuous known supernova remnant, the expanding cloud of gas created in the explosion of a star as supernova which was observed in the year 1054 AD. It shines as a nebula of magnitude 8.4 near the southern "horn" of Taurus, the Bull.  The nebula consists of the material ejected in the supernova explosion, which has been spread over a volume approximately 10 light years in diameter, and is still expanding at the very high velocity of about 1,800 km/sec. The notion of gaseous filaments and a continuum background was photographically confirmed by Walter Baade and Rudolph Minkowski in 1930: The filaments are apparently the remnants from the former outer layers of the former star (the "pre-supernova" or supernova "progenitor"), while the inner, blueish nebula emits continuous light consisting of highly polarized so-called synchrotron radiation, which is emitted by high-energy (fast moving) electrons in a strong magnetic field.  (Text credit: SEDS)

Image Details:

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  • Instrument:  TMB 152 Triplet Apo Refractor @ f/7.9 (1200mm) focal length
  • Mount:  Astro-Physics AP-1200GTO
  • Image Scale:  1.6 arc-seconds/pixel after processing
  • Filters & Exposure Times:  
    • L:  12 x 5 minutes binned 1 x 1
    • R:  12 x 5 minutes binned 2 x 2
      G:    6 x 5 minutes binned 2 x 2
      B:    8 x 5 minutes binned 2 x 2
      Ha:  4 x 15 minutes binned 1 x 1

    Total Effective Exposure Time:  6.3 hours

  • Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM with CFW8 Color Filter Wheel and AO-8 adaptive optics
  • Software: Maxim DL/CCD, Adobe Photoshop CS2, RC Astro Gradient X-Terminator, Neat Image Pro
  • Location: C.A.A.S. East Observatory, Little Rock, AR., El. 650ft
  • Date: December 21st, 2009

Wade Van Arsdale
Little Rock, AR., USA
December  26th, 2009