Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

astrophotography

The Jellyfish Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

The Jellyfish Nebula (IC443) at upper left is a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. It lies adjacent to the emission nebula Sharpless 249 at lower right. Image credit: Jeff Johnson at jeffjastro.com/
The Jellyfish Nebula (IC443), upper left, is a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. It lies adjacent to the emission nebula Sharpless 249, a star forming region, at lower right in this image. Image credit: Jeff Johnson at jeffjastro.com

The Jellyfish Nebula, also called IC 443, is the sprawling remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova some 3,000 to 30,000 years ago in a gas-strewn patch of the Milky Way in the constellation Gemini. As you can see in the above image by Jeff Johnson, the shock wave from the explosion produced the particularly intricate lacework of nebulosity that makes up the Jellyfish. The nebula, which is about 5,000 light years away, is adjacent to a rich region of star formation called Sharpless 249. [Read more…] about The Jellyfish Nebula

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

View of the Veil Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Image of the eastern section of the Veil Nebula (NGC 6992 and NGC 6995). Credit: Jeff Johnson.
Image of the eastern section of the Veil Nebula (NGC 6992 and NGC 6995). Credit: Jeff Johnson.

The Veil Nebula is a sprawling supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus and is one of the most intricate and beautiful objects visible with a small telescope. The nebula was formed by two stars that exploded 18,000 and 5,000 years ago, approximately. The stars were just 2,000 light years away, close enough to create a spectacular display when they detonated. Each must have shone as bright as a crescent Moon and cast shadows by night for weeks, but there are no records of these prehistoric events carved on a cave wall anywhere, at least none yet discovered [Read more…] about View of the Veil Nebula

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

A View of New Star Cluster and Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Image of open star cluster and emission nebula NGC 6823 and NGC 6820 in the constellation Vulpecula (credit: Jeff Johnson)
Image of open star cluster and emission nebula NGC 6823 and NGC 6820 in the constellation Vulpecula (credit: Jeff Johnson)

Within the Summer Triangle, in the constellation Vulpecula, the Fox, lies a fairly new star cluster NGC 6823 embedded within the glowing gas cloud of its birthplace, the nebula NGC 6820. The image above by astrophotographer Jeff Johnson of New Mexico shows cluster and emission nebula along with a dark nebula within the brighter emission nebula that shrouds yet another round of star formation [Read more…] about A View of New Star Cluster and Nebula

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

The Southern Pinwheel – M83

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video, Deep Sky

Messier 83, the "Southern Pinwheel", imaged at the Star Shadows Remote Observatory. Courtesy
Messier 83, the “Southern Pinwheel”, imaged at the Star Shadows Remote Observatory. Courtesy of Warren Keller, Steve Mazlin, Steve Menaker, and Jack Harvey

Today, let’s look at the spiral galaxy M83, a lovely cosmic lotus blossom and one of the showpieces in the southern deep sky.

Barely visible from northern latitudes, M83 lies roughly 15 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. It’s one of the 25 brightest galaxies in the sky, and one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies. At magnitude 7.6, it’s easily visible with binoculars and small telescopes about 18° due south of the bright star Spica, in Virgo, and just north of the star Menkent in the constellation Centaurus [Read more…] about The Southern Pinwheel – M83

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Secrets of Nightscape Imaging – Interview with Alan Dyer

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

Nightscape of stargazers and the Milky Way through Scorpius and Sagittarius at the Texas Star Party in 2015 (by Alan Dyer)
Nightscape of stargazers and the Milky Way through Scorpius and Sagittarius at the Texas Star Party in 2015 (by Alan Dyer)

I had the great pleasure of recently interviewing the master astrophotographer Alan Dyer of AmazingSky.com to discuss the basics of nightscape imaging with a digital camera. This sort of imaging, which combines elements of landscape photography and astrophotography, has become extremely popular over the last few years thanks to the advent of large, low-noise sensors in digital SLR cameras. Alan is the author most recently of the multi-media guide called Nightscapes and Timelapses which gives a comprehensive introduction to the art and craft of nightscape imaging.

As you listen to my interview with Alan, you will discover: [Read more…] about Secrets of Nightscape Imaging – Interview with Alan Dyer

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail