Skip to comments.
Astronomy Picture of the Day 3-02-03
NASA ^
| 3-02-03
| Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell
Posted on 03/02/2003 5:13:34 AM PST by petuniasevan
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2003 March 2
![See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download
the highest resolution version available.](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0303/orionprop_hst.jpg)
In the Center of the Trapezium
Credit: J. Bally, D. Devine, & R. Sutherland, D. Johnson (CITA), HST, NASA
Explanation: Start with the constellation of Orion. Near Orion's belt is a fuzzy area known as the Great Nebula of Orion or M42. In this nebula is a bright star cluster known as the Trapezium, shown above. New stellar systems are forming there in gigantic globs of gas and dust known as Proplyds. Looking closely at the above picture also reveals that gas and dust surrounding some of the dimmer stars appears to form structures that point away from the brighter stars. The above false color image was made by combining several exposures from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; belt; cluster; color; dust; emission; false; hubble; image; nebula; orion; photography; space; star; stars; telescope; trapezium
Here are successively "zoomed-in" images of the Great Nebula (M42) which contains Theta Orionis, the Trapezium. The location is the pinkish fuzzy middle "star" in Orion's sword. The Trapezium is easily visible in any size 'scope with decent optical quality. Enjoy!
![](http://hubblesite.org/db/2002/05/images/b/formats/large_web.jpg)
![](http://www.astrokorea.com/abluesky/image/m42-1.jpg)
![](http://hubblesite.org/db/2002/05/images/c/formats/large_web.jpg)
![](http://hubblesite.org/db/2002/05/images/d/formats/large_web.jpg)
There's more to the Trapezium than meets the eye...Infrared images show numerous faint stars and brown dwarfs.
To: MozartLover; Joan912; NovemberCharlie; snowfox; Dawgsquat; viligantcitizen; theDentist; ...
2
posted on
03/02/2003 5:15:21 AM PST
by
petuniasevan
(Wonders of the Universe)
To: petuniasevan
really pretty, thanks for the ping
3
posted on
03/02/2003 5:24:29 AM PST
by
firewalk
To: petuniasevan
BUMP!
4
posted on
03/02/2003 5:31:43 AM PST
by
xJones
To: petuniasevan
Mother Nature showing off her stuff. Great pics, thanks ...
5
posted on
03/02/2003 5:52:02 AM PST
by
MeekOneGOP
(Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
To: petuniasevan
Checking in from my uncle's house in Silver Springs, NV. (About a 1/2hr. east of Carson City) I went for a walk after dinner last night and it was absolutely beautiful! Perfectly clear skies and no moon. I had forgotten what stars look like!! I incourage everyone to get out away from the city lights and look UP every once in a while.
~Stu
6
posted on
03/02/2003 7:18:50 AM PST
by
WSGilcrest
(R)
To: petuniasevan
Clarinet_King (that's my boy) tells me he made today's APOD the background on his PC. Those of us who have them can tell you what an accomplishment it is when you've managed to impress a teenager. You can take the rest of the day off and sleep with a sense of true accomplishment. ;)
7
posted on
03/02/2003 9:26:44 AM PST
by
NerdDad
To: petuniasevan
Absolutely gorgeous - every one of the images! You've outdone yourself today!
To: petuniasevan
Spectacular!
The first one spooked me; I swear I see a face...........two eyes (one half-closed) and a nose..........
To: WSGilcrest
I had forgotten what stars look like!! Many communities are putting light-pollution enforcement into their zoning code. The town here is one of the worst for light pollution: you can read a newspaper anywhere outdoors at midnight in January. Nevertheless, it isn't necessary to light up the night sky while providing light where it is needed. A little light fixture shielding goes a long way.
To: MozartLover
Look again. My wife saw it immediately and pointed it out to me. It looks like an eagle perched and looking straight at you.
11
posted on
03/02/2003 5:54:33 PM PST
by
NerdDad
To: NerdDad
On the left or on the right?
I see a BIG face on the left, and something that looks eagle-ish on the right.
Love your screen name, BTW.:)
To: NerdDad
Thanks to you and your son Clarinet_King.
It's the positive responses I get that give me the encouragement/inspiration to post this thread each and every day.
Thanks to all who visit and especially those who post.
13
posted on
03/02/2003 6:19:13 PM PST
by
petuniasevan
(Wonders of the Universe)
To: MozartLover
OK. First let's establish that NerdDad is no artist. Second, I have never tried posting a photo here before. Guess there is a first for everything. I've taken the APOD and butchered it with my lack of artistic ability by trying to outline the two images within the image. My wife and son tell me there is another on the left side but I just don't see it. I see one bird looking head on to the upper right center of the picture. A second is a profile of a head near the bottom right
The link to my poor display of artistry that hopefully will show the outline of these two images is located at
http://www.camelthread.com/images/orionprop_hst.jpg
14
posted on
03/02/2003 7:34:29 PM PST
by
NerdDad
To: NerdDad
Ah. Yes. Now I see both of them clearly.
I still see, also, on the left side of the picture, a huge face with one open eye, one closed eye, and a big poofy nose.:)
To: petuniasevan
Astounding! Beautiful!
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.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson