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Ground-based detection of motion in the HH 399 jet and outflow over 17 years
Hi everyone,
I recently compared two images I obtained of the Trifid Nebula, separated by 17 years, and detected proper motion in the HH 399 jet and its extended outflow.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time motion in HH 399 has been detected using ground-based observations. Hubble previously demonstrated motion within the prominent jet; the longer time baseline in these images also reveals motion throughout the unobscured jet and extended outflow.
The movie and explanation are available in other places You will need to find- but the simple blink is available to see at the published research note below.
Acquisition details:
2009 epoch
• 0.6-meter RC Optical Systems telescope
• SBIG STL-11000 camera
• Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, Arizona
• 70 minutes each in red, green and blue
2026 epoch
• 0.6-meter RC Optical Systems telescope
• QHY600 camera
• ObsTech, Chile
• 7 hours each in red, green and blue
Although both observations happened to use telescopes of the same aperture and design, the cameras, observing sites and exposure depths were substantially different. Careful registration and comparison nevertheless reveal coherent displacement of multiple features across the outflow.
The measured displacement is only a few pixels—but at the distance of M20, it represents material moving at hundreds of kilometers per second.
The analysis has now been published as an AAS Research Note titled “Ground-Based Detection of Proper Motion in the HH 399 Outflow of the Trifid Nebula. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ae8f4a”
I thought this might interest the community because it demonstrates that long-baseline amateur and small-telescope observations can reveal genuine physical change in objects that ordinarily appear immutable.
I’m happy to answer questions about the acquisition, registration, measurements or comparison process.
—Adam Block
#space
source
Hi everyone,
I recently compared two images I obtained of the Trifid Nebula, separated by 17 years, and detected proper motion in the HH 399 jet and its extended outflow.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time motion in HH 399 has been detected using ground-based observations. Hubble previously demonstrated motion within the prominent jet; the longer time baseline in these images also reveals motion throughout the unobscured jet and extended outflow.
The movie and explanation are available in other places You will need to find- but the simple blink is available to see at the published research note below.
Acquisition details:
2009 epoch
• 0.6-meter RC Optical Systems telescope
• SBIG STL-11000 camera
• Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, Arizona
• 70 minutes each in red, green and blue
2026 epoch
• 0.6-meter RC Optical Systems telescope
• QHY600 camera
• ObsTech, Chile
• 7 hours each in red, green and blue
Although both observations happened to use telescopes of the same aperture and design, the cameras, observing sites and exposure depths were substantially different. Careful registration and comparison nevertheless reveal coherent displacement of multiple features across the outflow.
The measured displacement is only a few pixels—but at the distance of M20, it represents material moving at hundreds of kilometers per second.
The analysis has now been published as an AAS Research Note titled “Ground-Based Detection of Proper Motion in the HH 399 Outflow of the Trifid Nebula. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ae8f4a”
I thought this might interest the community because it demonstrates that long-baseline amateur and small-telescope observations can reveal genuine physical change in objects that ordinarily appear immutable.
I’m happy to answer questions about the acquisition, registration, measurements or comparison process.
—Adam Block
#space
source
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