Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Astronomy Picture of the Day - M43: Streams of Orion
APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 6 Oct, 2021 | Image Credit & Copyright: Jari Saukkonen

Posted on 10/06/2021 2:59:21 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: Where do the dark streams of dust in the Orion Nebula originate? This part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, M43, is the often imaged but rarely mentioned neighbor of the more famous M42. M42, seen in part to the upper right, includes many bright stars from the Trapezium star cluster. M43 is itself a star forming region that displays intricately-laced streams of dark dust -- although it is really composed mostly of glowing hydrogen gas. The entire Orion field is located about 1600 light years away. Opaque to visible light, the picturesque dark dust is created in the outer atmosphere of massive cool stars and expelled by strong outer winds of protons and electrons.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Society
KEYWORDS: nasa; orionnebula
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

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.

1 posted on 10/06/2021 2:59:21 PM PDT by MtnClimber
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 10/06/2021 2:59:43 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; America_Right; AZ .44 MAG; BBB333; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

🪐 🌟 🌌 šŸ”


3 posted on 10/06/2021 3:00:22 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber
Its not really a Pic of the Day thread without the pic...


4 posted on 10/06/2021 3:01:09 PM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Come on, man!

This isn’t real, it’s some artist’s or programmer/artist’s alteration of data by assigning some pixels or wavelengths or sumthin a certain color and others a different color. Cuz space is just black and white, essentially, and radiowaves and gravity waves got no visible color. Amiright?

Somebody got some splaining to do.

:)


5 posted on 10/06/2021 3:10:11 PM PDT by Notthemomma ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Magnum44

A “cool cat” looking up and just barely missing being trampled by a ghostly horse and rider ...


6 posted on 10/06/2021 3:12:26 PM PDT by gloryblaze
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Notthemomma

” it’s some artist’s “

I said that months ago on other astronomy images and some freeper yelled at me.

These are nothing more than digitally enhanced data packets.


7 posted on 10/06/2021 3:16:32 PM PDT by George from New England
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Notthemomma

https://www.cosmos.esa.int/documents/401090/1742815/Colours+of+Astronomy+Student+Guide/88d211ef-81a7-a0ea-f33e-fabd53d806cc


8 posted on 10/06/2021 3:23:10 PM PDT by gloryblaze
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Portuguese Man-O-War. :-)


9 posted on 10/06/2021 3:39:54 PM PDT by AFB-XYZ (Stand up, or bend over)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Looks like the chestburster from “Alien”.


10 posted on 10/06/2021 5:06:21 PM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the left, truth is right-wing extremism.⭐⭐)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Notthemomma; George from New England
> This isn’t real, it’s some artist’s or programmer/artist’s alteration of data by assigning some pixels or wavelengths or sumthin a certain color and others a different color. Cuz space is just black and white, essentially, and radiowaves and gravity waves got no visible color. Amiright? Somebody got some splaining to do.

Here's the "splaining" you requested.

First, let's realize that "color" perception is in the brain. The light receptors in your eyeball's retina do not "see" colors, they register the impact of photons with certain energy (i.e. waves with certain wavelength (1/frequency)). Your receptors send signals (data) to your brain, and your brain interprets the data as "colors". There is nothing intrinsic about "color" -- it's just your brain's interpretation of some data from some receptors.

Second, there's nothing special about "visible" light, except that it happens that that range of wavelengths matches the sensitivities of your retina's receptors. Some animals can sense other ranges of wavelengths.

So third, there's nothing unusual or untoward about mapping wavelengths of light that our retina's receptors can't sense, into the "visible" range that we're familiar with -- it's just another interpretation of the data for our brain to use.

As for your claim that "space is black and white" -- you are both correct, and incorrect. If by "black and white" you mean "dark and light", you are correct, in that light intensities vary. But as I said above, the light that your brain interprets as "red" or "green" or "purple" is really just black and white also. It's your brain placing the "colors" on that data.

So if some astronomer assigns "visible colors" to certain wavelengths that our receptors can't sense, there's nothing "unreal" about it -- it's just a way of giving our brains something to interpret in familiar terms.

Make sense?

11 posted on 10/06/2021 10:10:58 PM PDT by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

BOOMING VOICE ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Clean-up on Aisle 739,456,693,954!..................


12 posted on 10/07/2021 6:03:21 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

You took my post way too seriously. All of what you said is known, but not my point, which is, what some artist chose to make deep red, another might make it lime green, or egg-shell grey, but either way, it’s not what the average normal eyeball sees in outer space—these “astronomy pictures” are clearly just all contrived artwork.


13 posted on 10/09/2021 1:02:05 PM PDT by Notthemomma ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson