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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I can't say that I have ever viewed this nebula. have any of you?

If you head to a star party this summer, ask the owner of a large telescope to show you the Veil Nebula in an OIII (pronounced oh-three) filter. Considered a challenging object for 6- and 8-inch scopes back in the 1950s and ’60s, the Veil shows impressive structure in a 12-inch or bigger scope armed with a modern nebula filter.

(Courtesy of Astronomy Magazine)

[timothy]

Joe

No luck with the veil or the N american, but I did spot M1 ( the Crab neb ) last week. So cool! I was looking for that one for months. I think I was moving to fast before, this time I went very slow and stopped often.
Hey , by the way has anybody had any luck finding sn2004et ?

Tim

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Tim,

I glad you have posted this, as I thought it may be a bit too obscure for a mainstream discussion, and considering terrible Chicago skies...viewing it would be limited.

For those not familiar...There is observation going on presently on a new Supernova in NGC 6946, discovered during the summer.

It's amazing that there are thousands of human eyes scanning the skies and practically nothing goes unnoticed. With modern ccd imaging, one doesn't even have to be at the eyepiece!

I would be greatly interested in any direct observations of the event. Does the magnitude vary? Does it have the potential to outshine it's home galaxy? I doubt of Chicago Astronomers can track this, but some of our world members here might have a better chance.

And I have to wonder...when this sun went supernova thousands of years ago...what did it take with it. Were there ancient civilizations prospering on it's planets, now gone forever. How many civilizations both technologically advanced and those lumbering along have been betrayed by their sun and engulfed. How about the space faring creatures looking back and watching their life giving sun bloat and explode...saying goodbye to all that was.

The same fate awaits us.

Thanks Tim, perhaps I'll use this for an upcoming newsletter piece.