Tag Archives: Rigel

Orion Arising

Image Credit: NASA, ISS Expedition 40, Reid Wiseman

Orion’s belt runs just along the horizon, seen through Earth’s atmosphere and rising in this starry snapshot from low Earth orbit on board the International Space Station. The belt stars, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka run right to left and Orion’s sword, home to the great Orion Nebula, hangs above his belt, an orientation unfamiliar to denizens of the planet’s northern hemisphere. That puts bright star Rigel, at the foot of Orion, still higher above Orion’s belt. Of course the brightest celestial beacon in the frame is Sirius, alpha star of the constellation Canis Major. The station’s Destiny Laboratory module is in the foreground at the top right.

APOD NASA 28-Jun-14

Rigel

Rigel, also known by its Bayer designation Beta Orionis (β Ori, β Orionis), is the brightest star in the constellation Orion and theseventh brightest star in the night sky, with visual magnitude 0.12. The star as seen from Earth is actually a triple star system, with the primary star (Rigel A) a blue-white supergiant of absolute magnitude −7.84 and around 130,000 times as luminous as the Sun. An Alpha Cygni variable, it pulsates periodically. Visible in small telescopes, Rigel B is itself a spectroscopic binary system, consisting of two main sequence blue-white stars of spectral type B9.

Although Rigel has the Bayer designation “beta”, it is almost always brighter than Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse). Since 1943, thespectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Pentacon 4/200 MC
Mounts: Konus EQ3.2
Software: Corel Paint Shop Pro x2
Dates: Sept. 27, 2003

Author: Giuseppe Donatiello

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 11 June 2014

IC 2118 – Witch Head Nebula

IC 2118 (also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape), is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in Orion. It lies in the Eridanusconstellation, about 900 light-years from Earth. The nature of the dust particles, reflecting blue light better than red, is a factor in giving the Witch Head its blue color. Radio observations show substantial carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of IC 2118 an indicator of the presence of molecular clouds and star formation in the nebula. In fact candidates for pre-main sequence stars and some classic T-Tauri stars have been found deep within the nebula.

The molecular clouds of IC 2118 are probably juxtaposed to the outer boundaries of the vast Orion-Eridanus bubble, a giant supershell of molecular hydrogen blown by the high mass stars of the Orion OB1 association. As the supershell expands into the interstellar medium, favorable circumstances for star formation occur. IC 2118 is located in one such area.The wind blown appearance and cometary shape of the bright reflection nebula is highly suggestive of a strong association with the high mass luminous stars of Orion OB1. The fact that the heads of the cometary clouds of IC2118 point northeast towards the association is strong support of that relationship.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FSQ 106ED
Imaging cameras: SBIG STL-11000M
Mounts: Astro-Physics AP900
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS-60CB
Guiding cameras: Starlight Xpress Lodestar
Software: Pleaides Astrophoto PixInsight 1.8, Maxim DL
Filters: Astrodon E-series 2 LRGB
Accessories: FLI Atlas focuser
Dates: Oct. 12, 2012
Frames: 36×300″
Integration: 3.0 hours

Author: Rick Stevenson
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 30 May 2014

Mars and Orion over Monument Valley

Image Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (Astropics, TWAN)

Welcome to The World At Night. Sharing the night sky seen around the world, this view from Monument Valley, USA includes a picturesque foreground of famous buttes. Buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water eroded away the surrounding soft rock. The two buttes on the image left are known as the Mittens, while Merrick Butte is on the right. Recorded in 2007 December, planet Mars is at the left of the skyscape, a glowing beacon of orange that is the brightest object in the frame. To the right of Mars lies the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse is the reddish star near the center and the Belt of Orion and the Orion Nebula are farther right. Finally, the bright blue star Rigel appears above Merrick Butte in this stunning view of The World At Night.
NASA APOD 02-Feb-2014

Witch Head nebula

IC 2118 (also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape), is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in Orion. It lies in the Eridanus constellation, about 900 light-years from Earth. The nature of the dust particles, reflecting blue light better than red, is a factor in giving the Witch Head its blue color. Radio observations show substantial carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of IC 2118 an indicator of the presence of molecular clouds and star formation in the nebula. In fact candidates for pre-main sequence stars and some classic T-Tauri stars have been found deep within the nebula.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Teleskop Service TSAPO65Q
Imaging cameras: NIKON D7000
Mounts: SkyWatcher HEQ5 PRO
Guiding cameras: Lunatico Astronomia QHY5
Dates: Dec. 28, 2013
Frames: 6×600″
Integration: 1.0 hours

Autor: Gustavo Naharro

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
3 January 2014

We select the best works of amateur astrophotographers with details of equipment, shooting processing etc.

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