College of Charleston Observatory

The Veil nebula (NGC 6960) is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant. The progenitor was a star 20 times more massive than the Sun which exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. At the time of the explosion, the supernova would have appeared brighter than Venus in the sky, and visible in the daytime. When finely resolved, some parts of the nebula appear to be rope-like filaments. The standard explanation is that the shock waves are very thin and the shell is visible only when viewed exactly edge-on, giving the shell the appearance of a filament. The Veil Nebula is expanding at a velocity of about 1.5 million kilometers per hour.
(Information from wiki).

This picture is a combination of images from the Apogee Aspen CG16M CCD instrument mounted on CofC’s 24 inch PlaneWave CDK telescope, taken with H-alpha, OIII, and R filters. Exposures H-alpha: 2x180sec, OIII: 2x180sec, and R: 2x120sec. The H-alpha and OIII filters are optical filters designed to transmit narrow bandwidths of light centered on the H-alpha wavelength (656.28 nm) and on the OIII wavelengths (496nm and 501nm,) respectively.

Observer: Dr. George Chartas

March Open House will be this Friday, March 17th from 8 - 9:30 pm. Use the link below to get the FREE tickets from Eventbrite.

March 2023 Open House - Tickets Required - Please Read Description March Open House - Friday, 03/17/2023, 8-9:30 pm.

February Open House this Friday, 02/17, from 6:30 - 8pm. We are unsure whether the portable planetarium will be running as our zipper issue is still not resolved. Use the below link to get the FREE tickets from Eventbrite.

February 2023 Open House - Tickets Required - Please Read Description February Open House - Friday, 02/17/2023, 6:30-8pm.

October Open House this Friday, 10/28, from 7 - 8:30pm. We are unsure whether the portable planetarium will be running as our zipper issue is still not resolved. Use the below link to get the FREE tickets from Eventbrite.

October 2022 Open House - Tickets Required - Please Read Description October Open House - Friday, 10/28/2022, 7-8:30pm.

Pelican Nebula is an H II region (a region of ionized hydrogen) associated with the North America Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. The gaseous contortions of this emission nebula bear a resemblance to a pelican, giving rise to its name. The Pelican Nebula is located nearby first magnitude star Deneb. (Information from wikepedia)

This picture is a combination of images from the Apogee Aspen CG16M CCD instrument mounted on CofC’s 24 inch telescope , taken with Halpha (Ha), green (V) and blue (B) filters. Exposures Ha: 7x180sec, V: 7x180sec, and B: 7x180sec

The H-alpha filter is an optical filter designed to transmit a narrow bandwidth of light centered on the H-alpha wavelength of 656.28 nm. It is suitable for blocking out light pollution from downtown Charleston and capturing the brightest hydrogen line emitted by the Pelican Nebula in the visible spectral range.
Observer: Dr. George Chartas

Our little portable planetarium is one of the biggest draws at our open houses. But this one, brand new projector and screen, in 8K is amazing. Not possible to show the images but just awe inspiring shows.

IMO, this alone is worth the trip. The original Wright Brothers plane that began it all. Along with the original Spirit of St. Louis that Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic.

Exploration Moon exhibit. Original Mercury, Gemini, and the Apollo 11 command module. Amazing to see something so historic in person.

The Nation of Speed exhibit. Yes that's really Richard Petty's Pontiac that he won the Firecracker 400 with in 1984. And Mario Andretti's 1969 STP Hawk.

The exhibits that will be open starting next week.

This morning we're taking part in a special sneak preview of the new exhibits at the newly renovated Air & Space Museum in DC. I'll be posting pictures from as many as I can. Huge thanks to the museum staff and the School of Science and Math at CofC for making this happen.