Sunday, Feb 9, 2025

Supernova G119.5+10.2. its CTA-1 remnant and NGC40: A region rarely imaged due to its complexity and faintness. The largest structure visible in this image is the supernova remnant (SNR) G119.5+10.2, also known as CTA-1, named after the pulsar that can be found in the middle of the remnant. It is suspected to be 4,600 light-years from Earth and is about 10,000 years old. The gaseous filaments of CTA-1 span a field of 1°30' As noted above, very few images of this supernova remnant exist. To compose our image we have chosen a HSO-HOO palette giving it a red and blue appearance (red for Ha and blue for OIII) The central pulsar, CTA-1 As with every supernova, there must be a central source. In this case, the source is the pulsar called CTA-1. Pulsars are highly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation from their magnetic poles. In the case of CTA-1, the pulsar period is relatively long at 1.6 s per rotation. CTA-1 is associated with a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) - PWNe are regions of high-energy particles and magnetic fields that result from the interaction between the particle wind emerging from the pulsar and the surrounding interstellar medium, giving rise to a "small" nebula surrounding it. NGC 40 NGC40, also known as the Necktie Nebula, is a planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation Cepheus. It is located at a distance of approximately 3500 light years, spans 1.25 light years in diameter and is only 4500 years old. At the center of the planetary nebula is a white dwarf with 0.7 times the mass of the Sun. The gases surrounding the white dwarf have a temperature of about 10,000 °C and are expanding at 29 km/s. The Bow Tie Nebula got its name from its characteristic appearance: the central star, which is being stripped of its outer layers, illuminates the surrounding gas and dust. This creates a structure that, in certain views, resembles a bow tie. The star, now a white dwarf, emits intense ultraviolet radiation that ionizes the surrounding gas, causing it to glow and emit light at different wavelengths such as Ha or OIII. The image has been taken from 2 different locations, Àger and Albatàrrec, in Spain. During the months of September, October, November and December, with: *3 equipment: 2 Ts Photoline 115/800 triplet apo refractors and 1 Celestron SC 6" with hyperstar focus. *3 cameras: Qhy294M, Zwo ASI2600MC and Zwo Asi533MC *3 resolutions: 0.97, 1.19 and 2.51 arcsec/px After many hours of discarded images, the final image consists of a total integration of 196h, calibrated, stacked and processed with Pixinsight Gerard Tàrtalo Montardit and Àlex Capdevila Corral