Sharpless 2-224 in Auriga

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The Details
Object	Sharpless 2-224 in Auriga (Supernova remnant SNR G166.0+04.3)
Optics	Astro-Physics 160 EDF refractor at f/5.7
Platform	Astro-Physics 1200 GTO
Camera	SBIG ST-10XME
Filters	Tru-Balance Gen II 5nm Hydrogen Alpha filter
Date	07 and 10 January 2010
Location	Mount Wilson Observatory - Mount Wilson, CA
Exposure	Ha 14 x 1800 sec, 1x1 bin
Software	Maxim DL/CCD, CCD Stack, Photoshop CS4
Orientation	Field of View: 53'50" x 36'11" centered on RA 05h26m31.7s DEC +42°54'27" (2000.0) . North angle 290.86°; east 90° CCW from north.
Notes	Sharpless 2-224 is located about 3.5 degrees SSE of Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. It’s actually a supernova remnant having the designation SNR G166.0+04.3, thus identifying it by its approximate galactic coordinates. The odd bilateral shape of this SNR has given rise to research on its morphology by professional astronomers. B. M. Gaensler’s article entitled THE NATURE OF BILATERAL SUPERNOVA REMNANTS in The Astrophysical Journal (493:781E792, 1988 February 1) states the following about this object: “The SN explosion is believed to have occurred at or near the center of curvature of the shell component, which represents the expansion of that part of the SN shock into a uniform medium. The faint linear features in the remnant’s center mark the re-energizing of the slabs surface as a result of the shock breaking out into it, and the wing component represents the shock once again encountering dense material on the other side.” The shell component referred to is the obvious round structure dominating the left center portion of the above image, with the suspected explosion center at or very near the exact center of the image itself. The wing component is the fainter filamentary structure on the right side of the image.