Orion's various

Θέμα: Orion's various 16.02.09 18:23

Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, are the bright bluish stars from east to west (left to right) along the diagonal in this gorgeous cosmic vista.

Otherwise known as the Belt of Orion, these three blue supergiant stars are hotter and much more massive than the Sun.
They lie about 1,500 light-years away, born of Orion's well-studied interstellar clouds.

In fact, clouds of gas and dust adrift in this region have intriguing and some surprisingly familiar shapes, including the dark Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula near Alnitak at the lower left.

The famous Orion Nebula itself lies off the bottom of this star field that covers about 4.5x3.5 degrees on the sky.

This image was taken last month with a digital camera attached to a small telescope in Switzerland, and better matches human color perception than a more detailed composite taken over 15 years ago.

Credit & Copyright: Martin Mutti, Astronomical Image Data Archive

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 16.02.09 18:29

Orion's Belt Continued

Τhe easternmost belt star, Alnitak, at the bottom right of the field, surrounded by the well-known Horsehead and Flame nebulae.

But this view sweeps farther to the east (left) and north (top) detailing subtler cosmic clouds of gas and dust scattered through the fertile, nebula rich region.

The scene is anchored at the top left by the eerie blue glow and ominous dark dust lanes of reflection nebula M78.

Like the Horsehead, the Flame, and the Orion Nebula itself, M78 is a readily visible part of the large Orion Molecular Cloud complex some 1,500 light-years distant.

Credit & Copyright: Alan Smallbone

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 10.03.09 19:28

Horsehead and Orion Nebulae

Orion's various Orion-1

Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky's most recognizable constellations, the glowing Orion Nebula and the dark Horsehead Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas.
They appear in opposite corners of this stunning mosaic taken with a digital camera attached to a small telescope.

The magnificent emission region, the Orion Nebula (aka M42), lies at the upper right of the picture.
Immediately to its left is a prominent bluish reflection nebula sometimes called the Running Man.

The Horsehead nebula appears as a dark cloud, a small silhouette notched against the long red glow at the lower left.
Alnitak is the easternmost star in Orion's belt and is seen as the brightest star to the left of the Horsehead.
Below Alnitak is the Flame Nebula, with clouds of bright emission and dramatic dark dust lanes.

Pervasive tendrils of glowing hydrogen gas are easily traced throughout the region in this deep field image of the same region.

Credit & Copyright: Dale J. Martin (Massapoag Pond Obs.)

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 29.08.09 19:52

Classic Orion Nebulae

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The Great Nebula in Orion, also known as M42, is one of the most famous nebulae in the sky.

The star forming region's glowing gas clouds and hot young stars are near the center of this colorful deep sky image that includes the smaller nebula M43 and dusty, bluish reflection nebulae NGC 1977 and friends on the left.
Located at the edge of an otherwise invisible giant molecular cloud complex, these eye-catching nebulae represent only a small fraction of this galactic neighborhood's wealth of interstellar material.

Captured with very modest equipment, the gorgeous skyscape was awarded Best in Show at the 2009 Starfest International Salon of Astrophotography.
Judges commented that the detail and shading were exquisite in this version of a classic astronomical image.

The field spans nearly 3 degrees or about 75 light-years at the Orion Nebula's estimated distance of 1,500 light-years.

Credit & Copyright: Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn (Weather and Sky Photography)

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 04.10.09 11:46

M78 and Reflecting Dust Clouds in Orion

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An eerie blue glow and ominous columns of dark dust highlight M78 and other bright reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion.

The dark filamentary dust not only absorbs light, but also reflects the light of several bright blue stars that formed recently in the nebula.

Of the two reflection nebulas pictured above, the more famous nebula is M78, on the upper right, while NGC 2071 can be seen to its lower left. The same type of scattering that colors the daytime sky further enhances the blue color. M78 is about five light-years across and visible through a small telescope.

Orion's various M78andReflectingDustCloudsinOrionHi

M78 appears above only as it was 1600 years ago, however, because that is how long it takes light to go from there to here.

M78 belongs to the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that contains the Great Nebula in Orion and the Horsehead Nebula.

Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh

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Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 04.10.09 11:59

Camera Orion

Orion's various Orion_gauvreau

Orion, the Hunter, is one of the most easily recognizable constellations in planet Earth's night sky.

But Orion's stars and nebulas don't look quite as colorful to the eye as they do in this lovely camera image, taken early last month at the Black Forest Star Party from Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania, USA.

In this single exposure, cool red giant Betelgeuse takes on a yellowish tint as the brightest star at the far left.

Otherwise Orion's hot blue stars are numerous, with supergiant Rigel balancing Betelgeuse at the upper right, Bellatrix at the upper left, and Saiph at the lower right.

Lined up in Orion's belt (bottom to top) are Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka all about 1,500 light-years away, born of the constellation's well studied interstellar clouds.

And if the middle "star" of Orion's sword looks reddish and fuzzy to you, it should. It's the stellar nursery known as the Great Nebula of Orion.

Credit & Copyright: John Gauvreau

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 04.10.09 13:02

Comet and Orion

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These colorful panels both feature a familiar astronomical sight: the stellar nursery known as the Great Orion Nebula.
They also offer an intriguing and unfamiliar detail of the nebula rich skyscape -- a passing comet. Recorded this weekend with a remotely operated telescope in New Mexico, the right hand image was taken on September 26 and the left on September 27.

Comet 217P Linear sports an extended greenish tail and lies above the bluish Running Man reflection nebula near the top of both frames.
Nearby and moving rapidly through the night sky, the comet's position clearly shifts against the cosmic nebulae and background stars from one night to the next.

In fact, the comet was a mere 5 light-minutes away on September 27, compared to 1,500 light-years for the Orion Nebula.
Much too faint to be seen with the unaided eye, Comet 217P Linear is a small periodic comet with an orbital period of about 8 years.
At its most distant point from the Sun, the comet's orbit is calculated to reach beyond the orbit of Jupiter At its closest point to the Sun, the comet still lies just beyond the orbit of planet Earth.

Credit & Copyright: Rolando Ligustri (CARA Project, CAST)

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 26.11.09 13:08

M78 Wide Field

Interstellar dust clouds and glowing nebulae abound in the fertile constellation of Orion.

One of the brightest, M78, is centered in this colorful, wide field view, covering an area north of Orion's belt.
At a distance of about 1,500 light-years, the bluish reflection nebula is around 5 light-years across.

Its tint is due to dust preferentially reflecting the blue light of hot, young stars.
Reflection nebula NGC 2071 is just to the left of M78.

To the right of M78 and much more compact in appearance, the intriguing McNeil's Nebula is a recently recognized variable nebula associated with the formation of a sun-like star.

The remarkably deep exposure also brings out the region's faint but pervasive reddish glow of atomic hydrogen gas.

Credit & Copyright: Thomas V. Davis (tvdavisastropix.com)

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 24.10.10 13:45

Orion: Head to Toe

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Explanation: Cradled in cosmic dust and glowing hydrogen, stellar nurseries in Orion the Hunter lie at the edge of a giant molecular cloud some 1,500 light-years away.
Spanning nearly 25 degrees, this breath-taking vista stretches across the well-known constellation from head to toe (left to right). The Great Orion Nebula, the closest large star forming region, is right of center.

To its left are the Horsehead Nebula, M78, and Orion's belt stars. Sliding your cursor over the picture will also find red giant Betelgeuse at the hunter's shoulder, bright blue Rigel at his foot, and the glowing Lambda Orionis (Meissa) nebula at the far left, near Orion's head.

Of course, the Orion Nebula and bright stars are easy to see with the unaided eye, but dust clouds and emission from the extensive interstellar gas in this nebula-rich complex, are too faint and much harder to record.

In this mosaic of broadband telescopic images, additional image data acquired with a narrow hydrogen alpha filter was used to bring out the pervasive tendrils of energized atomic hydrogen gas and the arc of the giant Barnard's Loop.

Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 24.10.10 13:54

Orion : Osiris

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Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 24.10.10 13:56

Θέμα: Απ: Orion's various 15.02.13 20:36

Infrared Orion from WISE

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Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA

Explanation: The Great Nebula in Orion is a intriguing place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small fuzzy patch in the constellation of Orion. But this image, an illusory-color composite of four colors of infrared light taken with the Earth orbiting WISE observatory, shows the Orion Nebula to be a bustling neighborhood or recently formed stars, hot gas, and dark dust. The power behind much of the Orion Nebula (M42) is the stars of the Trapezium star cluster, seen near the center of the above wide field image. The eerie green glow surrounding the bright stars pictured here is their own starlight reflected by intricate dust filaments that cover much of the region. The current Orion Nebula cloud complex, which includes the Horsehead Nebula, will slowly disperse over the next 100,000 years.

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