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Click here for a full resolution image of Pickering's Triangle (2.63 MB)
The Details |
|
Object |
NGC 6979 Pickering's Triangle portion of the Veil Nebula in Cygnus |
Optics |
Astro-Physics 160 EDF Refractor at f/5.7 |
Platform |
Astro-Physics 1200 GTO |
Camera |
SBIG STL-11000M |
Filters |
Tru-Balance 6nm Hydrogen-alpha filter |
Date |
10 October 2006 |
Location |
Mount Wilson Observatory - Mount Wilson, CA |
Exposure |
Ha 8 x 1800 sec 1x1 bin |
Software |
Maxim DL/CCD, Registar, Photoshop CS2 |
Orientation | Field of View: 02°11’ x 01°27’ centered on RA 20h49m13s DEC 31°18’07” (2000.0). North angle 58.6 °; east 90° CCW from north |
Notes | Pickering’s Triangle was discovered in 1904 by Williamina Fleming of the Harvard Observatory while examining photographic plates of the area. The object was named in honor of her boss, astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, then director of the Observatory. Pickering’s Triangle goes by a number of aliases, including Pickering’s Wedge, Fleming’s Triangular Wisp, and Simeis 3-188. Current estimates place this supernova remnant at about 1800 light years from Earth. The entire Veil Nebula complex, of which Pickering’s Triangle is but a portion has an apparent diameter of about 3° or nine full moons! The tangled mass of star ejecta in the main body of the Triangle along with the fine, twisted filaments trailing out from that region make this object a beautiful and rewarding target for amateur astro-imagers. |
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No reproduction of these images are permitted without prior approval of the author.