This is not an officially recognized name, I just made it up. But I think it's obvious why I'm calling this object The Snowman Nebula. Actually it is know as Sharpless 2-302, an emission nebula in Puppis. Click here to see a larger version of my image of The Snowman Nebula.
I took the image last Wednesday and Thursday nights, during about the worst conditions possible short of clouds. The seeing was terrible, it was very windy, and the moon was full and high. I didn't have an observing plan, so I just clicked around in my planetarium software, casually looking for a target. I wasn't sure what I would see but I decided to give Sh2-302 a try. When I saw the first H-Alpha image I knew it would be an interesting object, because I could see the inky dark lane going clear across the faint nebula.
At this time of year, seasonal topics are on my mind; and even though it's not snowy in Tucson, I did grow up in the Northeastern U.S. so I'm quite familiar with snowy winter nights. As a kid I enjoyed building snowmen with my friends, and who doesn't remember the heartwarming story of Frosty the Snowman. So when I processed this, the snowman stood out plain as day.
I think I will put this on my Target list (by the way, I'm using a new software program called CCDNavigator which helps in planning observing sessions and organizing target lists, I highly recommend it). An image with better resolution should really enhance the details in the nebula. There is also a very tiny reflection nebula, vdB97, around the bright star mid-way between the snowman's nose and the edge of the image.
On another topic, last night's excursion to the TIMPA site was generally successful, but we did get clouded out around 2 a.m. I got some decent images but didn't finish anything, but it is always worth getting out to enjoy the cool night air at a dark site. When the moon rose it was considerably less dark, it was bright enough to cast shadows. That was my first visit to TIMPA and probably won't be my last, it is farther from my house that heading down to Empire Ranch but it does have the advantage of having power and restrooms.
I was disappointed to see the clouds come in because I had hoped to catch the unusually close triple conjunction of Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars this morning. I guess a few locals did observe it between cloud decks but I was home and asleep by then.
Tonight is clear but I'm taking it off to get some needed rest.
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