Martin Germano obtained this fine image of the Crab Nebula M1 on December 7/8, 2002 from Mt. Pinos, CA, with his 14.5" f/5 Newtonian. It is a 60 minutes exposure on hypered Tech Pan 2415.

This image is a Picture Window Pro 2.5 blend of a 1991 14.5" image at 50 minutes exposure time and the 2002 image at 60 minutes. The December 2002 image was a little overexposed in the nebula's center, and the large drop in temperature slightly changed the focus. By blending the 1991 and 2002 images together, Martin got better star images than either exposure, and retained most of the interior detail that the shorter 1991 image revealed.

Compare the 1991 image below:

More images from Martin Germano

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Last Modification: January 29, 2003