Observation by Mike Harlow: Field of Nova Tau 2026

Uploaded by

Mike Harlow

Observer

Mike Harlow

Observed

2026 Aug 13 - 02:10

Uploaded

2026 Aug 13 - 08:05

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Constellation

Taurus

Field centre

RA: 05^h25^m
Dec: +22°38'
Position angle: +0°37'

Field size

6°25' × 4°17'

Equipment

Canon 550 D DSLR
200mm Tamron lens @F/5.6

Exposure

30 seconds, ISO3200

Location

Ipswich, UK

Target name

Nova Tau 2026

Title

Field of Nova Tau 2026

About this image

A snapshot of the field containing Nova Tau 2026 to put it in context (approx. 6 x 4 degrees). Zeta Tauri is at bottom left and some other stars in Taurus are labelled (star numbers, not magnitudes, in this case). The Crab Nebula (M1) is just 3.5 degrees from the nova.

The box at top right shows the same 1 degree field as the AAVSO chart with the nova shown by tick marks.

The nova is a neutral yellowish colour and at V-mag 8.8 at the time this image was taken. It will become redder as it starts to fade and H alpha emission begins to dominate.

More spectroscopy soon...

Files associated with this observation

N_Tau_field_20260813.jpg (1.0 MB)

Like this image

Peter Mulligan, Andy Wilson

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