Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

dark nebula

The Elephant Trunk Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The nebula IC 1396, embedded star cluster Trumpler 37, and red supergiant star Mu Cephei (top). The nebula gets its power from the star HD 206267 near the center of this image. The tip of the Elephant Trunk Nebula lies just right of center.

Cepheus, the King, is an ancient and rather dim constellation, but its position along the northern Milky Way means it harbors more than its share of deep-sky sights including star clusters, nebulae, even the lovely Fireworks galaxy (NGC 6946). But the best field of view in the constellation encompasses three deep-sky sights including a star-forming nebula, a star cluster, and an aging red supergiant that’s one of the reddest and most luminous stars in the sky [Read more…] about The Elephant Trunk Nebula

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A Deep-Sky Vista and the Dark Nebula Le Gentil 3

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The North America Nebula (lower left) and IC1396 (upper right). The dark form of Le Gentil 3 lies just right and below center in this image.

Every picture tells a story, and this wide-field image of the northern Milky Way in Cygnus and Cepheus, which spans nearly 16º on each edge, surely has a lot going on.

To the upper right of this image, you see the blossom-like emission nebula IC1396 in Cepheus with the aging red-orange star μ Cephei, the ‘Garnet Star’, on its limb. Plenty of stars are forming within this stellar nursery.

At the upper left, you see the tiny blossom of the Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146), another stellar nursery at the end of a two-degree-long dark nebula Barnard 168, both set in a rich field of background stars.

Moving down the left side of the image you see more nebulosity culminating in the unmistakable North America Nebula (NGC 7000) and the neighbouring Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) below, both of which encompass more active regions of star formation. Various patches of dark dust and distant star clouds, especially the square formation above NGC 7000 also lie within this wide view, as does the bright star Deneb at the tail of Cygnus, the Swan.

But the showpiece of this image is notable for its lack of light. Just right and below centre you see the vast and irregular void of a cloud of gas and interstellar dust known as Le Gentil 3 that comprises an immense conglomeration of star-making material in the early stages of giving birth to dozens of new star clusters.

[Read more…] about A Deep-Sky Vista and the Dark Nebula Le Gentil 3

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The Taurus Molecular Cloud

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The Taurus Molecular Cloud, to the lower left of the Pleiades and lower right of the California Nebula in this wide-field image. The Hyades star cluster in Taurus is at middle right; the star Capella in the constellation Auriga is the bright star at left. Image credit: Brian Ventrudo

Not far from the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters along the northern Milky Way lies the coal-black fingers of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, the nearest star-forming region to Earth. Unlike the more famous Orion star factory, with the dazzling Orion Nebula and associated bright blue-white stars, the TMC is not well known to most stargazers. That’s because it doesn’t offer much to see, with no bright nebulae and just a dark and sooty network of tendrils that span more than 30o of sky. But the TMC is the nearest star-forming region to Earth, making it of considerable interest to astronomers. It’s also a rewarding target for astrophotographers who can capture its structure against the starry background in the constellations Taurus and Auriga [Read more…] about The Taurus Molecular Cloud

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