Highlights of Early March 2011

II.  Images of "Nearby" Objects

Dick Steinberg

Second set of early March Hyperion images from the Blue Mountain Vista Observatory:

An IFO-  (identified flying object) with Tycho, Copernicus, Plato et al. visible via earth-shine

A pair of nebulae resulting from supernova explosions-

M1, the Crab Nebula in Taurus - the aftermath of a supernova event known from historical records to have taken place nearly 1000 years ago. Since the nebula currently spans about 10 light-years, the outer gases must be expanding at about 1% of the speed of light.

IC443, the Jellyfish Nebula in Gemini - a supernova remnant roughly 10,000 years old. Distance roughly 5000 light-years. Haze limited the exposure to only 15 minutes. One or two hours would have allowed a much smoother image.

An open star cluster-

The Pleiades or Seven Sisters (M45),  a moderately young galactic cluster in Taurus. Dominated by hot B-type stars probably less than about 100 million years old. Distance only about 440 light-years. The nebulosity is currently thought to be an independent dust cloud through which the cluster happens to be passing.

And, finally, a portion of the great Orion nebula-

The Running Man Nebula (NGC1977), a blue reflection nebula with dark lanes of cooler absorbing gas forming the shadowy figure of a man running with outstretched arms.

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Hyperion 317mm f/8 corrected Cassegrain - Paramount ME - Apogee U16M binned 2x2 - 2048x2048 pixels - 1.46 arcsec/pixel - Field-of-view 50 arc-min square - image acquisition and processing: MaxIm DL 5.14 - automation: CCD Commander 1.6.33 - piggy-back guider Orion 80mm f/11.4 + SBIG ST8 camera