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Old 01-05-2021, 09:41 PM
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andyc (Andy)
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Homunculus Nebula with expansion since 2001

Hi all, here's a hi-res look at the Homunculus Nebula surrounding Eta Carinae. This is a blend of planetary & deep sky methods, 130 short H-alpha images collected by CCD, stacking/sharpening for the inner core done using planetary tools (PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax) stacking for the outer region done in PixInsight. Resolution is <1 arcsec - with the 'hole' in one lobe being ~2"x0.75" dimensions. Full res: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kdkFsEtJ1HWSEuYn6

The bubbles of gas around the star were erupted around 1840, and they are still expanding. Here's the comparison with a 2001 image from HST: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LuLcPVTdJVxDdPteA

There's not many deep space objects where you can see changes in short time periods! The expansion of the lobes and surrounding patches of nebulosity is very clear. It explains why size measures I read for the nebula were wrong - it's no longer 18" long, it is now 20" long...

Celestron C14, Atik 460EX, 60% of 130x0.9s H-alpha stacked and sharpened.
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