The Carina Nebula

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The Carina Nebula

[Public Domain] 18 Apr 2015 Dylan O'Donnell
CATEGORY : Astrophotography
13,238 others viewed this post.

This is an image I developed from 78 mins of exposure time (26 x 180s) a couple of nights ago. It covers a relatively large area of sky – roughly 4 full moons worth. I think it’s the most technical and successful nebula photo I’ve ever done!

Eta Carinae is the bright star in the heart of this active nebula region, a massive jewel in the southern sky. Interestingly it used to be brighter and the main star has dimmed significantly. Measurements suggest the star system is about to run out of steam and go supernova (explode) which would have the potential to shower the earth with ultraviolet radiation and light. The effect on life on earth is unknown, as is the schedule. It’s thought that it may wipe out the ozone layer.

Also this BEAST of an object is the only nebula that shoots ultravoilet lasers around. Yes, it has lasers for some weird reason. A thoroughly incredible patch of sky!

I’ve uploaded this as a massive 2560 pixel wide image if you want to zoom in for the details click here to the full size.

Nerdy Stuff
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78 Mins in 3 minute subs (26)
Indoor Flats + 1 Dark Frame
Celestron 9.25″ Edge HD
Hyperstar III lens
UCH Filter
QHY12 OSC CCD Camera
PHD 2.4 Guiding
Captured, Stacked, Stretched in Nebulosity
Final tweaks in PS.

 Download Full Resolution (2560x1669) 2060KB