Astrophotography by Walt Davis

Ever wonder what is left over after a super nova explosion? Well the Crab Nebula is a spectacular example of the remains.  Here we see an ever expanding cloud of gas that used to be the outer regions of a giant star. In this case the remaining inner core has collapsed into an extremely dense neutron star. This picture was taken with an Orion Starshoot DSCI II, Nikon TC-301 2x Teleconverter , and a Nikkor 600mm f4 ED lens.

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Object Information

Name: M1 (Crab Nebula)
Type: Supernova Remnant & Pulsar Wind Nebula
Description: Ever wonder what is left over after a super nova explosion? Well the Crab Nebula is a spectacular example of the remains.  Here we see an ever expanding cloud of gas that used to be the outer regions of a giant star. In this case the remaining inner core has collapsed into an extremely dense neutron star. This picture was taken with an Orion Starshoot DSCI II, Nikon TC-301 2x Teleconverter , and a Nikkor 600mm f4 ED lens.
Magnitude: 30.0
Size: 6.0 x 6.0 arcminute
Related Photos: none

References:

M1 (Crab Nebula)
 
Taurus Constellation
Supernova Remnant
Pulsar Wind Nebula
Crab Pulsar
Google Images
Acquisition

Location:

Latitude 44.841N by Longitude -122.869W at an elevation of 87 meters.
Aumsville, Oregon USA

Date:

December 4, 2008
Zone: -8 (Pacific Standard Time)
Equipment

Imager:

Orion StarShoot DSCI II

OTA:

Nikkor 600mm f4 ED super telephoto lens
Barlow: Nikon TC-301 2x Teleconverter doubling the focal length to 1200mm
Platform: 2X Super Modified Nikon Imaging Platform
Guiding: Orion StarShoot Deep Space Monochrom II Imager, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 ED lens, and MaxIm DL Essentials.
Imaging

Light frames:

15 x 5 minute

Darks:

 7 x 5 minute

Flats:

none
Filters: Custom 39mm Astronomics CLS Light Pollution Filter
f-stops: f16 with Barlow
FOV: 19 x 14 arcminute
Scale: 1.48 arcsecond per pixel
Software: MaxIm DL Essentials
Image Processing

Stacking:

MaxImDL Essentials

Combined:

Average
Processing:
  1. MaxIm DL Essentials -  squared, filtered (Gaussian Blur and Unsharp Mask), and color balanced.
  2. PhotoShop CS3 - Standard Curves and Levels.
  3. PhotoShop CS3 - Star Color and Roundness (Desaturate, Noise Mediem, Gaussian Bur).
  4. Astronomy Tools CS2 V1.5 - Enhance DSO and Reduce Stars.
Notes

none

Copyright © 2008 Walt L. Davis All Rights Reserved