NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 2736. On the SERC IIIa-J film, this appears to be the brightest patch in a supernova remnant that covers most of the 6.4 deg field with delicate whisps of nebulosity. On the ESO IIIa-F film, however, it is much brighter than the rest of the SNr, and I wonder if the relatively bright star immersed in it is exciting it as it passes by. In either case, it is certainly a diffuse gaseous nebula, not a galaxy.

===== NGC 2736 24" (4/11/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): Herschel's Ray was a striking, bright filament at 130x and a UHC or OIII filter, extending SSW-NNE for at least 20' in length. Herschel's Ray is brightest along a 5' stretch at the NNE end as it passes to the west of mag 8.3 HD 774433 and continues NNE ending to the west of a mag 9.5 star. Several very faint stars appear to very close to the northern half of the ray, particularly along the eastern edge, though a mag 11.2 star is also at the western edge. The ray weakens or thins to a narrow splinter just the east of this mag 11.2 star. At the NNE tip the filament subtly bends very slightly towards the north and at the SSW end the filament more obviously curves or hooks slightly towards the south as it fades. 13.1" (2/18/04 - Costa Rica): Herschel's Ray was easily picked up at 105x using a UHC filter. It extended well over 1/2 of the 38' field, at least 20'x2', oriented SSW-NNE. This prominent Vela Supernova filament is brightest towards the NNE end near a mag 8.3 star which is just following the NNE edge. It appears like a thin splinter of light through the field with a weak filamentary structure and variations in brightness, similar to one of the fainter filaments in the Veil nebula. Several stars are very close to the edge including a mag 11 star near the middle. I was impressed the appearance was very comparable to the view I had through the 18-inch in Australia. 18" (7/7/02 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this is an isolated bright eastern filament in the Vela Supernova remnant which is centered over 4¡ to the west. At 128x and UHC filter (38 arcmin field), it appears as a fairly faint, thin, nebulous streak extending SSW-NNE over half the field, ~20'x1'! The surface brightness is roughly uniform, though the northern portion is brighter near a mag 8.3 star off the NE end. The nebulosity continues past this star and ends with a mag 9.5 star due east of the NNE tip. On the SSW end the nebulosity gradually dims out. A few mag 11 stars border the filament, one just off the west edge near the center and a couple further south.