In the year 1054 Chinese astronomers noted a very bright star that could be seen in the bright daylight. John Bevis published a new star catalog (epoch 1746) and maps which showed not only stars, but nebula including the nebula photographed below. Charles Messier noted the same nebula as no. 1 in his list of nebulae. However, he is not the discoverer of the nebula, because different astronomers confirmed the discovery of the nebula earlier. Today, Messier 1 (or NGC 1952) is believed the supernova remnant visible from the star explosion seen by the Chinese astronomers. The green light seen from the nebula is dominated by oxygen gas, while the red filaments consist of hydrogen gas.
Observational data
Telescope: | Vixen VC200L, focal reducer f/6.4, Sphinx SXD |
Camera: | Canon EOS 60D, clear glass modification (internal filter removed), 400 ASA |
Filter: | Astronomik UV/IR EOS block filter |
Exposure: | 11 x 120s, auto-guided |
Calibration: | Dark (100 images), Sky-Flat (50 images) |
Image Processing: | Shift & add with correction of subpixel movement, improved noise reduction |
Date of exposure: | 03 March 2011 |
Software: | ArgusPro SE, color saturation by Photoshop CS3 |
Remark: |
Seeing > 4" (average) |