Posted on 11/13/2025 12:39:57 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Few cosmic vistas can excite the imagination like The Great Nebula in Orion. Visible as a faint, bland celestial smudge to the naked-eye, the nearest large star-forming region sprawls across this sharp colorful telescopic image. Designated M42 in the Messier Catalog, the Orion Nebula's glowing gas and dust surrounds hot, young stars. About 40 light-years across, M42 is at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1,500 light-years away that lies within the same spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy as the Sun. Including dusty bluish reflection nebula NGC 1977, also known as the Running Man nebula at left in the frame, the natal nebulae represent only a small fraction of our galactic neighborhood's wealth of star-forming material. Within the well-studied stellar nursery, astronomers have also identified what appear to be numerous infant solar systems.
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For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
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I see Running Man on the left, but what’s up with that dog lower center looking up at him?
Note: They did not post normally today (out of practice?). The article link is to the general APOD page so it will work today, but anyone clicking tomorrow will get tomorrow’s APOD. Normally they also post to the archives list and that is where I normally link so that the link works at a later date. But they did not post to the archives. Maybe they will later.
Look like E.T. doing a doobie................
On the right is a bacon double cheeseburger.
For the munchies...................
With fries on the left.
The big red blob looks like a cat...
Looks like an Alien coming out of John Hurt
Wow.
They just posted to the archives an APOD for every day they missed during the shutdown.
Thanks for posting, it’s a great explanation of the Orion Nebula.
SpyNavy
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Does anyone in this group have a a recommendation(s) for a telescope under $1500, preferably under 1K, that I can use for the following purposes.
Observe far off space objects, planets stars, Andromeda etc.
Take clear photos with high end digital camera (cost of mount for camera is excluded feom my price range.)
Preferably able to track to the object using an app to at least get me close.
I live in a very dark sky area and can see the milky way from my porch, with naked eye, usually between April and September, quite well.
I have done some online research but the reviews are hit and miss and the best options given all seem to be fron fellas pushing certain companies.
My intent is to photograph space objects & have them printed and framed for man cave.
I already have taken photos of eclipses in 2017 abd the more recent ones in 2022/2023. I have an equatorial mount for my camera etc.
But I’m looking to get into more space objects and planetary photography.
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