Showing posts with label Abell 29. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abell 29. Show all posts

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Abell 29

Two red arcs take their trip across the southern sky

Unseen to all passers by

They were once a star that started to die

Surely that must be the first poem written about Abell 29 (PK244+12.1)? The nebula is hidden behind a grainy fog because it’s incredibly faint (14.3m/6x4’) and low down in the constellation of Pyxis the Mariner’s Compass. The grain is inherent in the camera. It took about half an hour’s worth of minute exposures at f/3 on the 20-inch with the modified Canon 1000D. Also a lot of teasing and tweaking was involved in the processing. I keep thinking I can see a hint of blue inside the red arcs. Hmm… a bit of an achievement from the UK, this one.
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