M1 Crab Nebula

DETAILS: Imaged with LX200 10" and an STV with attached FR-237 focal reducer at f3.75, using a Lumicon filter slide for LRGB image. Processed, aligned and color combined in MaxIm DL with sharpening applied.

COMMENTARY: The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant of glowing gases and plasma expanding from a cataclysmic explosion of a star fifteen times more massive than our own sun. This supernova explosion was observed and reported by Chinese astronomers in 1054 A.D. Being relatively close, 6,500 light-years, and so massive an explosion, it shone as bright as Venus in the daytime sky for 23 days. The Crab Nebula is located in the Constellation Taurus, and at its center is a rapidly-spinning, city-sized neutron star as massive as the sun. It is a spectacular object to image in color.