Observation by Paul Whitmarsh: Crab

Uploaded by

Paul Whitmarsh

Observer

Paul Whitmarsh

Observed

2025 Feb 14 - 20:23

Uploaded

2025 Feb 16 - 02:25

Objects

The Crab Nebula (M1)

Equipment

Seestar S50

Exposure

8h 7m 20s mix of 20s and 10 s exposures

Location

Mileaway Observatory Uckfield

Target name

Title

Crab

About this image

M1 is the remains of a star which was seen to explode in 1054CE . The star was much larger than the Sun and when it ran out of fuel it exploded creating the heavy elements and the structure we see is those elements being thrown out into space. These elements might be gathered and reborn in new stars, planets or maybe even living beings. We are all after all made of stardust.

M1 is known as the Crab nebula and at it's heart there is a super dense cinder of a star where the matter which didn't get thrown out by the explosion is in a super dense state, a star the size of a city, spinning at just over 30 times a second, such dead stars ar knowns as pulsars. If the original star was much more massive the resulting dead star would have become a black hole.

The image was taken over 6 weeks from 3rd Jan to 14th Feb 2025, using a Seestar S50. The total exposure time was 8h 7m 20s.

Files associated with this observation

M1_2025_01_03_02_16_29240s_Enlarged.jpg (776.9 kB)

Like this image

David Swan, Dominic Ford, Callum Potter, Simon Paul Davis, James Weightman, Steve Knight

Comments

David Swan, 2025 Feb 16 - 18:13 UTC

Superb: you have shown just what can be accomplished with a Seestar and a substantial stack. Do you use the supplied tripod? I've been able to improve my results dramatically after buying a module to couple my Seestar to a large tripod. Before, there was just too much jiggling in the wind.

Paul Whitmarsh, 2025 Feb 16 - 18:24 UTC

Hi David, I had an Astrotrack pier which I had not used for some time. It's nice and light weight and easy to get the Seestar set up. I don't get too many vibration issues. Although the Seestar can act as a bit of a sail.

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