A lovely emission nebula hosting a very odd, three-lobed, clover-shaped SNR

Note: This object is identified as NGC 2030 in most sources.

16″ at 228x: This star-forming complex, NGC 2029, with its lovely OB association (LH 83) and tiny SNR J0535-6602 is a lovely and fascinating sight! LH 83 appears round, about ~3′ in diameter and with 20 or so resolved stars scattered around randomly. They include four mag 12.5-13.5 stars and one 12.7 mag star lying at the SW end. The stars are embedded in a faintly glowing, off-round nebulosity, ~1.8′ in diameter. The UHC filter really brings the nebula to life; it increases in size to around 2.5′, appearing almost circular in shape. The nebulosity is uneven with patchy glows of luminous brightness here and there in the overall glow. Lovely.

One of the first three extragalactic supernova remnants to be discovered in the LMC (1966), N63A (SNR J0535-6602) is estimated to be as young as 2,000 years and spans over 25 light-years. Optical images of this little beauty show it as a very odd, three-lobed, clover-shape. Images in the infrared, X-ray, and radio emission show the much more expanded bubble that totally encompasses the optical emissions seen by Hubble Space Telescope and odd-shaped mini-clouds or cloudlets that were too dense for the stellar wind to clear away are now engulfed in the bubble interior. The supernova generated a propagating shock wave, that continues to move rapidly through the low-density bubble interior, and shocks these cloudlets, shredding them fiercely. That’s a lot to ponder when one views this SNR… and therein lies the problem!

Despite the lovely large and bright SNR one sees in images, I found N63A to be one of the most elusive SNRs to catch in the telescope! I searched diligently for it a couple of nights at 228x and 333x both with and without a filter, but all I could see was stars and the haze of uneven nebulosity. Then, on the third evening, in the wonderful way astronomy rewards persistence, there it was among the stars – a ~12″ triangular-shaped dab of pale ash-coloured light at 333x without a filter. It was a night of unbeatable transparency which was clearly the key. Strangely, it had very little response to the OIII filter; the view remained unchanged with no apparent contrast gain. Very odd. Thereafter, it was easy to pick up on subsequent visits… provided transparency was very good. And I visited it frequently; who can’t be absolutely fascinated at looking at the supernova debris of a once massive star? Indeed, every time I look at a SNR my mind is boggled how the end of millions of years of massive star evolution and the beginning of thousands of years of supernova evolution are separated by a matter of a few seconds.

A stunning combined image of N63A in the X-ray from the Chandra Space Telescope and in visible light by Hubble. The prominent knot of gas and dust on the upper right is the bright little scrap we can observe in visible light, while the larger supernova remnant shines most brightly in X-rays. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, Chandra; Judy Schmidt