M1 Crab nebula from Chile

https://buytelescopes.com/content/images/thumbs/dc8eddf963be71d6981f8134492003604bdf033d_m1-crab-nebula.jpg

This image of the crab nebula was taken from below the equator down in Chile at our remote site at Las Campanas with the AP 12" F8 Astrograph. It’s a Ha/OIII composition assigning Ha to the red channel, OIII to the blue channel, and synthesizing the green channel with a combination of the two. Exposure time Ha 23 x 1200 sec, OIII 25 x 1200 sec for a total exposure time of 16 hours.

M1 is a far north object that does not rise very high in the sky in Chile, and this image shows just how pristine the skies are in the Chilean Andes mountains even for objects that are near the horizon. Image capture by Howard Hedlund of AP, image processing by Dave Jurasevich.

Yes indeed! I like the way the Neutron Star Pulsar is cleanly separated from the brighter "companion." The sep is a few arc-sec, but challenging to try to squeeze a little radiometer stop in there. I've been trying to chop/strobe the Pulsar with no luck yet, but building the (bigger) 36-inch scope now to get more photons, and am also building a customized "instrumentation" focuser that will allow me to get the chopper blade closer to the focal plane, for best modulation. I of course hope to literally see it blinking, but will certainly settle for a radiometer trace that reveals the telltale ~30Hz and 1st harmonic up. The presence of the companion helps ID the pulsar, but will also make it challenging to mask only it for radiometry. I'm not going to give up until I succeed of die off. The vis modulation was 1st confirmed with a 36-inch scope... on a mountain... Tom

Wow 8O

That is a beautiful image! Very nice.

Joe