Amateur Astronomy Picture of the Day
Image Credit: federico2006
Location: Carezza al lago (Bolzano)
FYNebulas
FYNebulas
Amateur Astronomy Picture of the Day
Image Credit: federico2006
Location: Carezza al lago (Bolzano)
(via uraniaproject)
(via invaderxan)
APOD: Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka
Image Credit & Copyright: Sergi Verdugo Martínez
Explanation: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, are the bright bluish stars from east to west (left to right) along the diagonal in this gorgeous cosmic vista. Otherwise known as the Belt of Orion, these three blue supergiant stars are hotter and much more massive than the Sun. They lie about 1,500 light-years away, born of Orion’s well-studied interstellar clouds. In fact, clouds of gas and dust adrift in this region have intriguing and some surprisingly familiar shapes, including the dark Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula near Alnitak at the lower left. The famous Orion Nebula itself lies off the bottom of this colorful star field. Recorded last December with a modified digital SLR camera and small telescope, the well-planned, two frame mosaic spans about 4 degrees on the sky.
This mosaic image taken by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, features three nebulae that are part of the giant Orion Molecular Cloud—the Flame nebula, the Horsehead nebula and NGC 2023.
Despite its name, there is no fire roaring in the Flame nebula. What makes this nebula shine is the bright blue star seen to the right of the central cloud. This star, Alnitak, is the easternmost star in Orion’s belt. Wind and radiation from Alnitak blasts away electrons from the gas in the Flame nebula, causing it to become ionized and glow in visible light. The infrared glow seen by WISE is from dust warmed by Alnitak’s radiation.
A Flame in Orion’s Belt
This mosaic image taken by WISE telescope features three nebulae that are part of the giant Orion Molecular Cloud. The image covers an area of the sky about three times as high and wide as the full moon (°1.5 × 1.8°). Included in this view are the Flame nebula, the Horsehead nebula and NGC 2023.
The Flame nebula (NGC 2024) ia a molecular cloud. What makes it shine is the bright blue star seen to the right of the central cloud, Alnitak - the easternmost star in Orion’s belt. Wind and radiation from Alnitak blasts away electrons from the gas in the Flame nebula, causing it to become ionized and glow in visible light. The infrared glow seen by WISE is from dust warmed by Alnitak’s radiation.
The famous Horsehead nebula appears in this image as a faint bump on the lower right side of the vertical dust ridge. It is classified as a dark nebula because the dense cloud blocks out the visible light of the glowing gas behind it. WISE’s infrared detectors can peer into the cloud to see the glow of the dust itself.
A third nebula, called NGC 2023, can be seen as a bright circle in the lower half of the image. NGC 2023 is classified as a reflection nebula, meaning that the dust is reflecting the visible light of nearby stars. But here WISE sees the infrared glow of the warmed dust itself.
Color in this image represents specific infrared wavelengths. Blue represents light emitted at 3.4-micron wavelengths, mainly from hot stars. Relatively cooler objects, such as the dust of the nebulae, appear green (4.6-micron light) and red (12-micron light).
• Source: WISE mission site
