NGC 1952

This Crab Nebula is a remnant of a supernova that exploded in 1054 and was then observed by Chinese astronomers of the Song Dynasty. Located in the constellation Taurus, it is the first object to have been associated with the historic explosion of a supernova. Its small size makes it a very difficult object to photograph.

The remnants of its explosion continue to spread at the dazzling speed of 1500 kilometers per second. They are mainly made up of ionized helium and hydrogen and create this sort of filamentary shell around it.

At the center is a pulsar, the result of the supernova explosion, which rotates nearly 30 times per second on itself. A pulsar produces electromagnetic radiation that manifests itself in the direction of its magnetic axis in the manner of a cone. By rotating on itself, it creates a periodic signal that was captured by radio waves for the first time in 1967.

There are a large number of pulsars, each of which expresses itself in different ways and in different wavelengths: radio pulsars, X-ray pulsars, gamma-ray pulsars, magnetos, etc. The one at the heart of the Crab Nebula produces as much energy as 100,000 suns.

This nebula is a popular target for astrophotographers thanks to a magnificent shot from the Hubble telescope that made it popular. However, it represents a challenge for everyone. Indeed, its small size and its even smaller filamentary details are difficult to capture and distinguish for amateur telescopes. Only the largest instruments in professional observatories allow a sufficiently fine and precise resolution to extract all the details.

The image presented here is the result of a SHO composition, in Hubble palette, in order to try to bring out the different structures that make up the nebula.

Equipment used:
- Skywatcher 80ed Evostar
- ZWO 533mc pro
- ZWO 120mm mini
- EQM-35 Pro
- Asiair plus
- EFW
- EAF
- OAG
- L-Ultimate filter for Ha and OIII layers
- SII filter
- Stacked and Ha/OIII extracted with Siril
- SII stacked with PixInsight
- Processed with PixInsight
- Finished with Lightroom