Messier Catalog » M1 — NGC 1952 Crab Nebula

This is a detailed rendering of the crab nebula using a combination of broadband and SHO filters.
Detailed Crab Nebula

This is a detailed rendering of the crab nebula using a combination of broadband and SHO filters.

This was a focused capture using 5-minute exposures over two nights with the Optolong L-eXtreme filter. The Crab Nebula was mistaken for a comet by astronomer Charles Messier in the late 1600s. Frustrated, he started a catalog of 'things to avoid' and the Crab was awarded Messier 1 or M1 for short. I wonder what his reaction would have been had he used an EdgeHD instead?
Colors of the Crab

This was a focused capture using 5-minute exposures over two nights with the Optolong L-eXtreme filter. The Crab Nebula was mistaken for a comet by astronomer Charles Messier in the late 1600s. Frustrated, he started a catalog of 'things to avoid' and the Crab was awarded Messier 1 or M1 for short. I wonder what his reaction would have been had he used an EdgeHD instead?

To start the new year, I imaged the first item in the Messier catalog on the first day of the year. Coincidentally, M1 was the first deep space object and nebula I photographed. This is a stack of several nights of 5-minute exposures that sum to just over seven hours of integration time.
The Crab in 2023

To start the new year, I imaged the first item in the Messier catalog on the first day of the year. Coincidentally, M1 was the first deep space object and nebula I photographed. This is a stack of several nights of 5-minute exposures that sum to just over seven hours of integration time.

It started as a supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054 AD. M1, the Crab Nebula, is the expanding remnant of that millenia old explosion.
M1: The Crab Nebula

It started as a supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054 AD. M1, the Crab Nebula, is the expanding remnant of that millenia old explosion.

My first ever astrograph taken with the Celestron EdgeHD 9.25 SCT.
M1: The Crab Nebula Test Shot

My first ever astrograph taken with the Celestron EdgeHD 9.25 SCT.

The first nebula I photographed is also the first item in the Messier Catalog. M1, also referred to as the Crab Nebula, is the remnant of a supernova estimated to have occurred less than 10,000 years ago, with the light taking around 6500 yeas to reach us. At the center sits a spinning neutron star. I decided to revisit M1 as my project for the week. This is the result of 6 hours of exposure over three nights. Processed a second time with BlurXTerminator.
A Crab Deconvoluted

The first nebula I photographed is also the first item in the Messier Catalog. M1, also referred to as the Crab Nebula, is the remnant of a supernova estimated to have occurred less than 10,000 years ago, with the light taking around 6500 yeas to reach us. At the center sits a spinning neutron star. I decided to revisit M1 as my project for the week. This is the result of 6 hours of exposure over three nights. Processed a second time with BlurXTerminator.

 
RA

5h 34.5m

Dec

22°1

Magnitude

8.4 ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚫⚫

Size

6.0x4.0

Distance

6,300 light years

Season

❄ Winter

Difficulty

🟡 Moderate