| Supernova Remnant - Crab Nebula |
The Crab Nebula was the first entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog of celestial treasures, and thus designated M1. Messier was a French astronomer and comet hunter in the
1700s who recorded over 100 "fuzzy objects" which could be mistaken for comets. Little did he suspect that he would be remembered more for his catalog of "mistakes" than for any
comet he discovered.
M1 is also known as the Crab Nebula, due to its vague resemblance to a Horseshoe Crab. M1 is a remnant of a supernova, from a star that exploded in 1054 C.E., and chronicled by
Chinese astronomers as bright enough to be seen in daylight for days! A supernova occurs when a giant star (at least 15 times as massive as our sun) runs out of nuclear fuel, and
begins to collapse, then rebounding in a huge explosion that can be brighter than an entire galaxy! But over the next few thousand years, the glow fades to blackness, leaving a dark
neutron star or black hole in its place. There truly is "no more sunshine when it's gone......"
The closeup view above was taken with 30 minutes clear luminence, 30 minutes red luminance unbinned, and 25-25-35 minutes of red-green-blue exposures binned 2x2, with an
ST10XME camera, 0.67x nosepiece reducer, and Meade 12" LX200R telescope at the Hidden Lake Observatory. The wider field image below is the composite of 50 minutes
luminance, 15 minutes red, 15 minutes green, and 25 minutes blue using an ST10XME camera through a TEC140, from my suburban backyard..
1700s who recorded over 100 "fuzzy objects" which could be mistaken for comets. Little did he suspect that he would be remembered more for his catalog of "mistakes" than for any
comet he discovered.
M1 is also known as the Crab Nebula, due to its vague resemblance to a Horseshoe Crab. M1 is a remnant of a supernova, from a star that exploded in 1054 C.E., and chronicled by
Chinese astronomers as bright enough to be seen in daylight for days! A supernova occurs when a giant star (at least 15 times as massive as our sun) runs out of nuclear fuel, and
begins to collapse, then rebounding in a huge explosion that can be brighter than an entire galaxy! But over the next few thousand years, the glow fades to blackness, leaving a dark
neutron star or black hole in its place. There truly is "no more sunshine when it's gone......"
The closeup view above was taken with 30 minutes clear luminence, 30 minutes red luminance unbinned, and 25-25-35 minutes of red-green-blue exposures binned 2x2, with an
ST10XME camera, 0.67x nosepiece reducer, and Meade 12" LX200R telescope at the Hidden Lake Observatory. The wider field image below is the composite of 50 minutes
luminance, 15 minutes red, 15 minutes green, and 25 minutes blue using an ST10XME camera through a TEC140, from my suburban backyard..
Music: Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone
