Posted on 10/04/2023 12:50:44 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Does this nebula look like the head of a witch? The nebula is known popularly as the Witch Head Nebula because, it is said, the nebula's shape resembles a Halloween-style caricature of a witch's head. Exactly how, though, can be a topic of imaginative speculation. What is clear is that IC 2118 is about 50 light-years across and made of gas and dust that points to -- because it has been partly eroded by -- the nearby star Rigel. One of the brighter stars in the constellation Orion, Rigel lies below the bottom of the featured image. The blue color of the Witch Head Nebula and is caused not only by Rigel's intense blue starlight but because the dust grains scatter blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers in planet Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen.
(Excerpt) Read more at apod.nasa.gov ...
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.
Ding! Dong! The Witch’s Head!..................
Looks kind of like Hillary.
The Hildabeast Nebula.
Finally someone whose "bed head" looks worse than my own ....
What a coincidence- last night I was watching a video on YouTube, a “shoot-out” between two astrophotographers using identical equipment, shooting and processing the “WitchHead” nebula.
Look for a profile, looking downward to the right.
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