Unveiling the Carina Nebula. a 152H Collaboration.
Greetings, space enthusiasts and curious minds! I’m thrilled to share with you a monumental project that not only showcases the majestic Carina Nebula but also uncovers the faint supernova remnants nestled in its embrace. This project is a testament to what passionate collaboration, cutting-edge technology, and countless hours under the stars can achieve.
The Carina Nebula, located about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Carina, is a sprawling stellar nursery where stars are born from gas and dust. This region is not only a crucible of creation but also a canvas for the catastrophic end of stars, leading to the formation of supernova remnants. It’s a place of both beginnings and endings, where the cycle of stellar evolution is on grand display.
Our Journey Through the Cosmos
This adventure began with a desire to test the limits of my Redcat 51 telescope, a prize from a competition that awaited its moment to shine. The New Horizon (NHZ) imaging group, consisting of talented astronomers including Logan Carpenter, Ken Hall, and myself, joined forces to bring this vision to life. Even though this was not an NHZ project, this project would have not been possible without this group.
Technical Specs:
- Total Exposure: A remarkable 152 hours of exposure captured the ethereal beauty of space.
- Resolution: The meticulous process of 2x drizzling brought our images to an impressive resolution of 19,000 x 19,000, eventually cropped to best present our findings in a landscape orientation.
- Collaborative Spirit: Special thanks to John Dziuba for the loan of his 6200mc camera, enhancing our data quality as we dream of future equipment upgrades.
Navigating the Stars:
The backbone of our project was laid with over 54 hours of data from a combination of a Redcat 51 and a 6200mc. Our collective efforts included Logan’s detailed 4-panel mosaic of the Southern Witch’s Broom SNR, Ken’s hauntingly beautiful Ha imaging of the area right of the Banana Nebula, and my own 2-panel mosaic that further detailed this region.
Highlights:
- The Southern Witch’s Broom Nebula – A likely supernova remnant, this structure captivates with its intricate filaments, captured towards the end of 2023 alongside Chester Hall-Fernandez and Logan.
- Filamentary Ha Structures – To the right of the Banana Nebula, these faint structures whisper tales of supernova remnants with mysterious origins.
And not to be missed, the Gabriella Mistral Nebula and its dazzling surroundings, the Banana Nebula, and the vibrant core of the Carina Nebula itself, all serve as reminders of amazing and massive these structures are.
