This is the Vela Supernova Remnant (SNR), the leftover debris from an exploding star (Type II Supernova), about 815 light years from Earth out in the constellation of Vela as photographed from my pool deck. There is a lot going on in this picture. About 11,000 years ago, a star exploded out in the constellation of Vela. The process ended with the exploded star (progenitor) as a pulsar (Vela Pulsar). The atmosphere of the star exploded out and expanded into what we see in the picture as a supernova remnant. This image does not show the entire SNR, as it covers a much larger area than the field of view of the telescope. The resulting Vela Pulsar is not in the field of view of this image. Complicating this entire endeavor, is the fact that this object sits very low in the southern sky from my latitude in North America (28 Degrees North). This object popped up above my treeline for about 2 hours each night. The highest this object ever got was 17 Degrees above the horizon, so I was shooting through a lot of atmosphere down in the horizon haze. These challenges make the final result even more satisfying.

Equipment Used:
Telescope: William Optics Zenithstar Z103 APO Doublet
Mount: iOptron CEM60 Center Equatorial Mount
Camera: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro Monochrome Dedicated Cooled Astronomy Camera
Autoguider: ZWO Off Axis Guider
Guide Camera: Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2
Focal Reducer/Field Flattener: William Optics Flat 6IIIA .80x focal reducer/field flattener

свернуть