December 28, 2018

NGC 1491 (Dec. 2018)

This is 21x1800" with the SXVF-H9 through the 6nm Astronomik H-alpha filter and Synta-ONTC 8" f/4.95 Newt. The brighter star in the center driving the hydrogen emission is 11.2-magnitude BD +50 886, classified as O5 or O4.  Source.  The nebula is probably over 10,000 light years away. I was able to catch two nights on this nebula.  The first night was somewhat less transparent, but the data seemed good.  The second night had excellent transparency.

December 8, 2018

M1 Bi-color (Dec. 2018)

This is M1, the remnant of a nearly 1,000-year-old supernova. If you look closely, at the center of the nebula you can see two stars, very close together.  The dimmer of the two is the pulsar, what is left of the exploded star.  This image is 10x1800" in Ha and 11x1800" in OIII with the SXVF-H9 through the Synta-ONTC 8" at f/4.95.

Melotte 15 (Dec. 2018)

This is cluster Melotte 15 and accompanying nebula, which to me looks like a Brontosaurus traveling towards the upper left.  This is 12x1800" with the SXVF-H9 through a narrowband H-alpha filter and the Synta-ONTC 8" f/4.95.