Posted on 02/24/2012 3:52:39 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Rich in star clusters and nebulae, the ancient constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer, rides high in northern winter night skies. Composed from narrow and broadband filter data and spanning nearly 8 Full Moons (4 degrees) on the sky, this deep telescopic view recorded in January shows off some of Auriga's celestial bounty. The field includes emission region IC 405 (top left) about 1,500 light-years distant. Also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, its red, convoluted clouds of glowing hydrogen gas are energized by hot O-type star AE Aurigae. IC 410 (top right) is significantly more distant, some 12,000 light-years away. The star forming region is famous for its embedded young star cluster, NGC 1893, and tadpole-shaped clouds of dust and gas. IC 417 and NGC 1931 at the lower right, the Spider and the Fly, are also young star clusters embedded in natal clouds that lie far beyond IC 405. Star cluster NGC 1907 is near the bottom edge of the frame, just right of center. The crowded field of view looks along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, near the direction of the galactic anticenter.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Steve Cannistra (StarryWonders)]
|
THAT’S a spooky one! :-)
I thought it looked like when I turned around too fast and the top came off my cherry slurpee. It’s either that or man’s soul crying out in this endless cosmos. Whatever. The school district psychologist quit showing me the ink blots back in the third grade after I told him they all looked like Napoleon’s retreat from Russia.
LOL! You made me LOL!
Wasn't that was more like about 600 BC, i.e. 2600 years ago?
I think it’s interesting that the two upper nebula appear almost the same in brightness but one is significantly further away.
I thought the latter, but I see what you mean about the alien face. :’)
Well, 412 AD, so, late in the classic Roman Empire.
Uh, whoop, 512 AD. Boy, that only took us all four tries. So far.
Behind every man now alive stand thirty ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living. Since the dawn of time, roughly a hundred billion human beings have walked the planet Earth. Now this is an interesting number, for by a curious coincidence there are approximately a hundred billion stars in our local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in this Universe there shines a star. -- Arthur C. Clarke
Yeah, you’re a normal guy. I understand.
VERY Cool!
Sadly, all are close enough for gov’t work.
Hey! I was just looking at that on Thursday night.
The picture is upside down.
In the photo, the nebula on the left is the Flaming Star Nebula. The Flaming star (brightest one in the area, is AE Aurigae. It is thought to be a cast of from the Great Orion Nebula and is cutting a path through the gas cloud.
The state should be spelled Aurigon...
Ha!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.