Saturday, February 18, 2023

The Great Nebula in Orion


I bought a small astronomical imaging camera that goes on the back of a telescope, and it connects to another  little box that collects the images from the camera and then processes them and wirelessly sends them to my iPad, which controls all this stuff! Astounding technology.  And relatively easy to learn how to use, so far, at least.  So this is the result of my first outing with the camera.  Because of the light polluted skies all over Long Island I was stunned to see some of the delicate, wispy detail this camera was able to capture!  Beginners luck!  The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye under a dark night sky. The nebula is a region of massive star formation.  Stars are born within this giant cloud of gas!  It is estimated to be 24 light-years across. It has a mass of about 2,000 times that of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion. 


 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! This photo is spectacular! I love the brilliant light above Orion's belt. The various shades of burgundy are surprising.Made me think of Butterfly wings...betsey

Anonymous said...

How beautiful and mysterious. The colors and flow of the image are magnificent. Technology is amazing with its capabilities. It is difficult to grasp the concept of light years and the vastness of space. Trace