M1 - The Crab Nebula

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Reduced Image (800 x 518 Pixels)

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Description

M1, also known as the Crab Nebula, is the northern sky's most famous example of a supernova explosion remnant. According to Chinese astronomers, this supernova exploded on July 4, 1054 A.D. The supernova was reportedly visible during daylight hours for 23 days and was observable as a naked eye object at night for 653 days. At the heart of the Crab Nebula is a rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar, that emits pulses of radiation at a rate of 30 times per second. The Crab Nebula lies approximately 6300 light years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation of Taurus, the Bull.

Image Details

Target:	M1 (NGC 1952)
Coordinates (Center - J2000):	RA 05h 34m 40s ; Dec +22d 01m 28s
Date:	18 December 2006
Constellation:	Taurus
Imaging Location:	Indialantic, Florida
Camera:	SBIG ST-8XME & CFW-10 Color Filter Wheel
Filters:	Astrodon Series E Tru-Balance LRGB
Telescope:	Celestron 8" SCT f/10 (FL = 2100mm) Carbon Fiber Tube
Mount:	Takahashi EM-200 Temma II GEM (12 VDC)
Image Scale:	0.87 arcseconds per pixel
CCD Temperature:	-10 C
Luminance Exposures:	8 @ 450 sec. each (60 minutes total)
Mount Control Software:	The Sky 6.0.0.52
Camera Control Software:	CCDSoft 5.00.182
Focus Control Software:	FocusMax 3.3.15
Executive Control Software:	CCD Commander 1.4.0
Collimation and Image Evaluation Software:	CCDInspector
Calibration and Stacking Software:	CCDStack
Color Combining and Final Processing Software:	Photoshop CS

Additional Details

Description of M1 (By Rob Gendler):

http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/M1text.html