Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

nebula

The Dusty Birth of a New Star

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

A newly formed star lights up the surrounding cosmic clouds in this image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Dust particles in the vast clouds that surround the star HD 97300 diffuse its light, like a car headlight in enveloping fog, and create the reflection nebula IC 2631. Although HD 97300 is in the spotlight for now, the very dust that makes it so hard to miss heralds the birth of additional, potentially scene-stealing, future stars. Credit: ESO.
A newly formed star lights up the surrounding cosmic clouds in this image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Dust particles in the vast clouds that surround the star HD 97300 diffuse its light, like a car headlight in enveloping fog, and create the reflection nebula IC 2631. Although HD 97300 is in the spotlight for now, the very dust that makes it so hard to miss heralds the birth of additional, potentially scene-stealing, future stars. Credit: ESO.

This marvelous image from the European Southern Observatory shows a small section of the Milky Way going about its business making new stars. Here you see in this dusty region the reflected light of a new main sequence star, HD 97300, as it settles down into its billion-year life span [Read more…] about The Dusty Birth of a New Star

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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

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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

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Nebulosity in the ‘Swan’s Chest’

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Gamma Cygni mosaic_LRGB+HA_small_Terry Hancock
Blue-white star Sadr (right) is surrounded by a complex of dark nebulae and bright emission nebulae in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan (credit: Terry Hancock)

The bright star Sadr marks the chest of the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Located in the direction of the northern Milky Way, this little patch of sky is packed with diffuse emission and dark nebulae that are part of the much larger Cygnus Molecular Cloud. This image by Terry Hancock shows the rich nebulosity in this region as captured from his backyard observatory in Fremont Michigan. He created this mosaic originally consisting of 5 panels and later cropped to make 4 panels using 187 individual frames and a total exposure time of over 18 hours. The total mosaic covers an area approximately 6.5 x 5.4 degrees. Equipment used, QHY11 Monochrome CCD and Takahashi E-180 [Read more…] about Nebulosity in the ‘Swan’s Chest’

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The Flaming Star Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The Flaming Star Nebula (IC405) at upper right and the emission nebula IC410 at lower left.
The Flaming Star Nebula (IC405) at upper right. The star AE Aurigae is the bright star in the right part of the nebula. Emission nebula IC410 is at lower left. Image credit: Terry Hancock.

Stars in the Milky Way tend to revolve around the center of the galaxy, bobbing slightly above and below the galactic plane as if in a perpetual cosmic merry-go-round. But sometimes a star gets catapulted across the sky by a close gravitational interaction with another star.  One of the best-known “runaway stars” lies in the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. Known as AE Aurigae, this blazing star is passing by chance through a cold cloud of interstellar gas. The result is ‘accidental’ emission nebula cataloged as IC 405, but more commonly called the Flaming Star Nebula [Read more…] about The Flaming Star Nebula

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