(click on image for larger version)
This is an image of the western half of the Perseus Molecular Cloud which includes the NGC1333 reflection nebula (above center). I took this at New Mexico Skies Observatory during a visit in early 2006. I decided to spend most of my time there getting a couple of really deep images and this is one, the other is M81 and M82.
This region is quite special to me since my thesis work was done here and in the eastern portion of this cloud. I've been studying outflows from young stars which manifest themselves when the outflowing material slams into the ambient molecular material, producing shocks (called Herbig-Haro or HH objects) which, if conditions are right, shine in H-alpha light. The bright red spots in this image are some those HH objects. In the fits version of the H-alpha image, I've identified 31 of these objects. A survey done with the 4 meter Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak netted 144 of them throughout the cloud. Getting 31 in this image is impressive given that the 4 meter (158 inch) has an aperture advantage of nearly a factor of 700 (in area). In addition, the 4 meter survey covered the eastern portion of the cloud which is not in this image. Lastly, the 4 meter survey used a [SII] filter in addition to H-alpha which will detect some HH objects which don't shine brightly in H-alpha.
In addition to HH objects, this image shows the structure of the molecular cloud well. Western Perseus contains several dense cores each of which contain several protostars. The most obvious is NGC1333, the reflection nebula just abouve center. Also visible are several dark cores containing protostars: Barnard 1 (far left), L1455 (bottom center), L1451 (just left of L1455), and L1448 (at right). Of particular interest is the cometary cloud at the very bottom of the image between L1455 and L1451. My first scientific paper was on this object.
Telescope:
Mount:
Camera:
Exposure:
Location:
Takahashi FCT-150 triplet apo $ f/5
Paramount
SBIG STL-11000
H-alpha (18x15 min), L (12x15 min), R (4x15 min), G (4x15 min), B (4x15 min)
Hale Pohaku (elevation 9200 ft. on Mauna Kea)
