Crab Nebula Timelapse: "Epochs" (1999-2021)

This is one of the highest resolution color time-lapses that shows the expansion of the Crab Nebula Supernova remnant over a period of 20 years. Our lives are short and astrophotographers can only capture a small part of the this amazing cosmic movie in a lifetime. I am fortunate to have begun my astrophotography career at the time CCD astro-imagery began to become widely available (mid-1990s). As such this time-lapse stretches from the beginning of that era all the way to today. These are EPOCHS of technology, of a lifetime of one passionate astronomer, and of course of the ever unfolding beauty of the Cosmos.

#supernova #CrabNebula #astrophotography #timelapse #animation #awesome

Special Thanks to:
Alan Strauss and Travis Deyoe (http://SkyCenter.arizona.edu ) for allowing me to capture the new image. I hope to live long enough to do another frame in 9-10 years.... fingers crossed!

Also thanks to Brian Valente for helping me get started in Premier Pro and to Simon Tang for helping me create a cinematic version of what would have been a banal blinking blooper reel.

For educational/classroom purposes, a "plain" version of this video without introduction and voiceover can be found here:
Expansion of the Crab Nebula (1999-20...

Some notes (many of them)!

1. The still frames from which this animation is derived can be found at:
https://www.adamblockphotos.com/m1.html

2. The VLT image is one of the oldest high resolution "color" images available that has the resolution that is comparable to the later images of 2012 and 2021.

https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso...

It is remarkable to compare data from an 8 meter telescope to a telescope 1/10th the size. However the VLT image is not a full color image and it isn't quite as deep (in overall  brightness) compared to the future frames. This means when watching the transitions between frames, watch the motion of the filaments and do not be overly concerned with the mismatch in color and brightness with this old VLT  image.

3. One of the main challenges of creating a high quality time-lapse like this is to be able to process the large astronomical data sets and create frames that closely match each other. These are not "snap shots." The 2012 and 2021 images are complex data sets which include H-alpha emission. This extra dimension of light creates better contrast in the filaments and increases the difficulty in processing (to match frames) exponentially.

4. Much of the method of image processing used to create this product can be found at http://AdamBlockStudios.com