The Jellyfish Nebula...

Object: IC 443

Type: Supernova remnant

Distance: 5000 light years
Constellation: Gemini
Date: 09 March 2007
Equipment: SXV-H9, 400mm Vixen guidescope
Subframes: 33 x 300s 2x2 binned subframes in H alpha (unguided), 16 darks, 16 flats/flat darks, calibrated and stacked in AIP4Win.

A dark, clear evening allowed me to have a crack at imaging this supernova remnant in Gemini. To frame the object on my SXV-H9, I used a 400mm focal length Vixen guide scope which is of surprisingly reasonable optical quality.

The result above was OK-ish (click on the image to enlarge), but I'm starting to think I need to sort out some sort of permanent polar alignment, master autoguiding and get a good quality lens in the 300-400mm focal length range as the stars still show a trace of trailing.

I could then go for longer subs at full resolution without star trailing or other aberrations, which limits my current efforts.

Master astrophotographer Johannes Schedler of Panther Observatory fame provides a gloriously detailed wide-field image of this object here.