250201 - Unnamed SNR G206.9+02.3 in Monoceros
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click image to enlarge
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ASTRO:
type=Super Nova Remnant mag=(un-reported) const=Monoceros dist=7200 ly size=60 ly IMAGE: location=Emerald Bay, TX BrtlCls=4 exposure=CMOS OSC; 88x300s (7.3h), G100 palette=HOO EQUIPMENT: camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro optics=ES102 w0.8x rdcr, F=571mm, f/5.6 filter=Optolong L-eXtreme Duo NB mount=Celestron AVX guiding=Orion 60x240mm, ZWO ASI224MC SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, NINA, PHD2 processing=PixInsight (RCAstro) (SetiAstro), Photoshop (Lumenzia), LrC |
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The supernova remnant SNR G206.9+02.3 in the constellation Monoceros is a rarely photographed object. ...which is somewhat surprising, since it fits comfortably on an APS-C sized camera sensor at moderate telescope focal lengths, and has passable brightness in both the OIII and Hα wavelengths of light. Except for the OIII needing more exposure time than the Hα, it is fairly easy to capture.
Its anonymity may explain why it has no apparent common name: It appears there simply hasn't been enough attention given to it by astronomers for a name to emerge. Unlike this object's SNR numerical designation which is permanently and unambiguously registered by the International Astronomical Union ("IAU"), common names of nebulae are not being recorded or registered at all. To this APer, it somewhat resembles a "pill-bug". Common names of nebulae exist only by a very loose consensus among the astronomical community at-large. As a result, many common names of nebulae have, and do change frequently.
G206.9 was studied in 2014 by professional Astronomer and SNR specialist, Dr. Silvia Patricia Ambrocio-Cruz, PhD of the Instituto de Astronomía in México City, who published in her findings that it resides appx 7200 ly away from our Sun. At that distance, it measures just under 60 ly across its long dimension. It has a measured shock velocity (the speed at which its outer extents are expanding outward) of appx 86 km/s. Dr. Cruz's paper doesn't mention an estimated age or whether an associated neutron star or pulsar has been found. These questions still need to be answered. It's exciting to know that research continues as amateur astrophotographers capture images of these types of objects.
The object is located in the neighborhood of C49, the Rosette Nebula, at the western edge of the huge Monoceros Loop, also a SNR, whose fringes can be seen at the right edge of the image. G206.9 puts on quite a show with a beautiful filamentary structure in Oxygen, depicted here in the color blue, against a backdrop of Hydrogen clouds depicted in red. The colors are intentionally 'mapped' in this way (called the 'HOO' palette) to provide enhanced visual contrast through color between chemical elements. The image was captured over 2 consecutive nights, and consists of appx 7.3 hours integrated exposure time, using a OSC (color) camera fitted with a dual narrow-band filter specifically designed to capture the wavelengths of oxygen and hydrogen. 88 subexposures were captured, each being five minutes long. They were stacked and processed using PixInsight and Photoshop, and 'topped-off' using Lightroom Classic.
Its anonymity may explain why it has no apparent common name: It appears there simply hasn't been enough attention given to it by astronomers for a name to emerge. Unlike this object's SNR numerical designation which is permanently and unambiguously registered by the International Astronomical Union ("IAU"), common names of nebulae are not being recorded or registered at all. To this APer, it somewhat resembles a "pill-bug". Common names of nebulae exist only by a very loose consensus among the astronomical community at-large. As a result, many common names of nebulae have, and do change frequently.
G206.9 was studied in 2014 by professional Astronomer and SNR specialist, Dr. Silvia Patricia Ambrocio-Cruz, PhD of the Instituto de Astronomía in México City, who published in her findings that it resides appx 7200 ly away from our Sun. At that distance, it measures just under 60 ly across its long dimension. It has a measured shock velocity (the speed at which its outer extents are expanding outward) of appx 86 km/s. Dr. Cruz's paper doesn't mention an estimated age or whether an associated neutron star or pulsar has been found. These questions still need to be answered. It's exciting to know that research continues as amateur astrophotographers capture images of these types of objects.
The object is located in the neighborhood of C49, the Rosette Nebula, at the western edge of the huge Monoceros Loop, also a SNR, whose fringes can be seen at the right edge of the image. G206.9 puts on quite a show with a beautiful filamentary structure in Oxygen, depicted here in the color blue, against a backdrop of Hydrogen clouds depicted in red. The colors are intentionally 'mapped' in this way (called the 'HOO' palette) to provide enhanced visual contrast through color between chemical elements. The image was captured over 2 consecutive nights, and consists of appx 7.3 hours integrated exposure time, using a OSC (color) camera fitted with a dual narrow-band filter specifically designed to capture the wavelengths of oxygen and hydrogen. 88 subexposures were captured, each being five minutes long. They were stacked and processed using PixInsight and Photoshop, and 'topped-off' using Lightroom Classic.