Tag Archives: Orion

M42

The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion’s Belt in theconstellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.
The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features.The nebula has revealed much about the process of how stars and planetary systems are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Borg 71FL
Imaging cameras: Canon / CentralDS EOS 60D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ-6 Skyscan
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Borg 50 Achromat 50/250
Focal reducers: Borg Super reducer
Software: PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS
Dates: March 9, 2013
Frames: 25×360″ ISO1600 -20C
Integration: 2.5 hours

Author: Emanuele Todini
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 21 Sep 2014

Running Man Nebula, NGC 1977

The Running Man Nebula NGC 1977, located in the constellation of Orion, is so named because it looks like a man running in the midst of the cloud of gas. It is a reflection nebula that does not emit any visible light of its own.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: GSO RC 10 Carbon
Imaging cameras: QSI 683WSG
Mounts: Gemini G42 Observatory+
Guiding telescopes or lenses: GSO RC 10 Carbon
Guiding cameras: Starlight Xpress Lodestar
Focal reducers: TS 0.75x GSO
Software: PixInsight
Filters: Astrodon True balance R, Astrodon True balance B, Astrodon True balance G, Astrodon True balance L
Accessories: Moonlite CR 2″ focuser with high resolution stepper
Dates: Dec. 31, 2013
Frames: 14×600″
Integration: 2.3 hours

Author: Davide Manca
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 03 Sep 2014

M78 in Orion

The nebula Messier 78 (also known as M 78 or NGC 2068) is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered byPierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that include NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 2071. This group belongs to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is about 1,600 light years distant from Earth. M78 is easily found in smalltelescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th magnitude. These two stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light.

About 45 variable stars of the T Tauri type, young stars still in the process of formation as well as some 17 Herbig–Haro objects are known in M78.
Imaging telescopes or lenses: William Optics FLT 132/925
Imaging cameras: Artemis Atik 383L+
Mounts: 10 Micron GM2000 QCI
Focal reducers: Tele Vue 0.8x Focal Reducer
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2, DSS, Fitswork
Filters: Baader Planetarium 36mm Red, Baader Planetarium 36mm Green, Baader Planetarium 36mm Blue
Accessories: Lacerta MGEN2
Dates: Nov. 30, 2013, Dec. 2, 2013
Locations: Sahara, Marokko
Frames:
Baader Planetarium 36mm Blue: 7×600″ -20C bin 1×1
Baader Planetarium 36mm Green: 5×600″ -20C bin 1×1
Baader Planetarium 36mm Luminance: 11×600″ -20C bin 1×1
Baader Planetarium 36mm Red: 7×600″ -20C bin 1×1
Integration: 5.0 hours

Author: Stefan Westphal
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 25 Aug 2014

Orion Nebula

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi TSA 102 f/8
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS
Mounts: Takahashi EM-400 Temma2
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Lunatico EZG60
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5
Software: PHD guiding, PixInsight, Bahtinov Grabber
Filters: Astronomik CLS CCD clip in
Dates: Dec. 26, 2011, Dec. 27, 2011
Frames:
Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 18×180″ ISO400
Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 15×30″ ISO400
Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 18×60″ ISO400
Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 10×600″ ISO400
Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 14×900″ ISO800
Integration: 6.5 hours
Darks: ~20
Flats: ~20
Bias: ~20

Author: Alberto Pisabarro
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 19 Aug 2014

Nebulae in Orion

The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 in emission nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of the star Alnitak, which is farthest east on Orion’s Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex.
The reflection nebula NGC 2023 is in the constellation Orion. It is one of the brightest sources of fluorescent molecular hydrogen, and at 4 light-years wide it is one of the largest in the sky. It is powered by the B star (B1.5) HD 37903, the most luminous member of a cluster of young stellar objects illuminating the front surface of the Lynds 1630 molecular cloud (Barnard 33) in Orion B.

The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500light-years away. The bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori), the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, shines energetic ultraviolet light into the Flame and this knocks electrons away from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there.

Author: Alberto Pisabarro
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 15 Aug 2014

M 78 in Orion

The nebula Messier 78 (also known as M 78 or NGC 2068) is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that include NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 2071. This group belongs to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is about 1,600 light years distant from Earth. M78 is easily found in small telescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th magnitude. These two stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light.

About 45 variable stars of the T Tauri type, young stars still in the process of formation as well as some 17 Herbig–Haro objects are known in M78.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Geoptik “Formula25″ Newton 10″ 1250mm
Imaging cameras: Home made 450D Cmos Cooled – Baader
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Geoptik 50/200 mm finderscope
Guiding cameras: Shoestring Astronomy USB Guide Port Interface, Xbox LiveWebcam
Software: photoshop, Pleiades Astrophoto, S.L. PixInsinght 1.8 RC7
Filters: HUTECH IDAS LPS P2
Accessories: Giosi Made Fasce anticondensa, Home made Arduino Focuser (project sir Jolo – ascom-jolo-focuser), Baader MPCC mpcc coma correcteur
Dates: Dec. 4, 2013, Dec. 5, 2013
Frames:
48×300″ -45C
HUTECH IDAS LPS P2: 45×300” 5C
Integration: 7.8 hours

Author: Giosi Amante
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 30 July 2014

The Horsehead Nebula from Blue to Infrared

Image Credit & Copyright: Optical: Aldo Mottino & Carlos Colazo, OAC, Córdoba; Infrared: Hubble Legacy Archive

One of the most identifiable nebulae in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula in Orion, is part of a large, dark, molecular cloud. Also known as Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first discovered on a photographic plate in the late 1800s. The red glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead’s neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula’s base are young stars just in the process of forming. Light takes about 1,500 years to reach us from the Horsehead Nebula. The above image is a digital combination of images taken in blue, green, red, and hydrogen-alpha light from the Argentina, and an image taken in infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.

APOD NASA 28-Jul-2014

Orion widefield

Orion’s seven brightest stars form a distinctive hourglass-shaped asterism, or pattern, in the night sky. Four stars—Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix and Saiph—form a large roughly rectangular shape, in the centre of which lie the three stars of Orion’s Belt (centre of the image) — Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Descending from the ‘belt’ is a smaller line of three stars (the middle of which is in fact not a star but the Orion Nebula), known as the hunter’s ‘sword’.

Hanging from Orion’s belt is his sword, consisting of the multiple stars θ1 and θ2 Orionis, called the Trapezium and the Orion Nebula (M42). Besides these nebulae, surveying Orion with a small telescope will reveal a wealth of interesting deep-sky objects, including M43, M78, as well as multiple stars including Iota Orionis and Sigma Orionis. A larger telescope may reveal objects such as Barnard’s Loop and theFlame Nebula (NGC 2024), as well as fainter and tighter multiple stars and nebulae. All of these nebulae are part of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which is located approximately 1,500 light-years away and is hundreds of light-years across. It is one of the most intense regions of stellar formation visible in our galaxy.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Canon 50mm f/1,4 Lense
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i
Mounts: Skywatcher Neq6 pro synscan
Guiding cameras: QHY5
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PHD guiding, photoshop
Dates: Oct. 5, 2013
Frames: 15×420″
Integration: 1.8 hours

Author: Ivan Jevremovic
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 11 July 2014

Orion’s Belt and nebulae

Orion’s Belt or the Belt of Orion is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.

Looking for Orion’s Belt in the night sky is the easiest way to locate the constellation Orion in the sky. The stars are more or less evenly spaced in a straight line, and so can be visualized as the belt of the hunter’s clothing. In the Northern hemisphere, they are best visible in the early night sky during the winter, in particular the month of January at around 9.00 pm

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6 L, Intes Micro mn 55
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i
Mounts: Sky-Watcher HEQ5
Guiding cameras: QHY5
Software: PHD guiding, Stark Labs Nebulosity 3.1.0, photoshop, Russell Croman gradient xterminator
Filters: Baader 2′ H-Alpha Filter 7nm
Dates: Jan. 8, 2013
Frames: 15×360″
Integration: 1.5 hours

Author: Ivan Jevremovic
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 10 July 2014

Horsehead Nebula IC 434

The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 in emission nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of the star Alnitak, which is farthest east on Orion’s Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The nebula was first recorded in 1888 by Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming on photographic plate B2312 taken at the Harvard College Observatory. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of the shape of its swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, which bears some resemblance to ahorse’s head when viewed from Earth.

The dark cloud of dust and gas is a region in the Orion Nebula where star formation is taking place. This stellar nursery, as it is known, can contain over 100 known organic and inorganic gases as well as dust consisting of large and complex organic molecules.

The red or pinkish glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. Magnetic fields channel the gases leaving the nebula into streams, shown as streaks in the background glow. A glowing strip of hydrogen gas marks the edge of the massive cloud and the densities of stars are noticeably different on either side.

The heavy concentrations of dust in the Horsehead Nebula region and neighbouring Orion Nebula are localized, resulting in alternating sections of nearly complete opacity and transparency. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust blocking the light of stars behind it. The lower part of the Horsehead’s neck casts a shadow to the left. The visible dark nebula emerging from the gaseous complex is an active site of the formation of “low-mass” stars. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula’s base are young stars just in the process of forming.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher Newton 8″
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i
Mounts: Sky-Watcher HEQ5
Focal reducers: Sky-Watcher Coma corrector
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PHD guiding, photoshop
Dates: Oct. 20, 2012
Frames: 20×600″
Integration: 3.3 hours

Author: Ivan Jevremovic
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 09 July 2014

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