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Crab Nebula – M1



 

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Common Name Crab Nebula
Formal Name M 1 / NGC 1952
Date 11/21/2007
Constellation Taurus
Location Ionia, NY
Equipment Meade 12in Classic, SBig 2000XM Camera/Filter Wheel, PHD guiding
Temperature −25°C
Exposures
# Exp (sec) Filter Bin Net Time (hr)
3 900 Blue 2x2
3 900 HAlpha (Red) 2x2
3 900 Green 2x2
3 900 Lum 2x2
Total 3.0 hrs
Processing Reduced in CCDSoft
Aligned in Registar
Combined in ImagesPlus (Adaptive Addition)
Histogram, curves adjusted in PixInsight
Levels, Curves in Photoshop CS
Gendler’s HAlpha combination (Method 1)
Carboni’s Photoshop Actions applied
Notes
  • Distance 6523 lyr
  • Radius 5.5 lyr
  • 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. NASA
  • A rapidly spinning neutron star (the ultra-dense core of the exploded star) is embedded in the center of the Crab Nebula. Electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around the star’s magnetic field lines produce the eerie blue light in the interior of the 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. NASA
  • The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1840 using a 36-inch telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab.Wikipedia

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