240309 M78 Casper Ghost & LDN1622 Boogeyman starscape
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ASTRO:
type=Starscape const=Orion dist=1344 ly (avg) size=73 ly IMAGE: location=EB Driveway BrtlCls=4 moon=1% WnCr exposure=CMOS OSC: 47x120s (1.6h), G100 EQUIPMENT: camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro optics=NIKKOR 70-300mm DX kit zoom @ 200mm filter=Optolong L-Pro LPS mount=Celestron AVX EQ guiding=(none) SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, APT processing=PixInsight, RCAstro, PhotoshopCC, RCAstro, LrC |
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Locked together in an endless struggle of light vs. dark... M78, the bright "Casper Friendly Ghost" reflection nebula (upper right), and LDN1622, the "Boogeyman" dark nebula (lower left), are separated by a wall of seemingly impenetrable ionized Hydrogen emitting its characteristic red glow. In this image, the apparent 'wall' is a small segment of the much larger super nova remnant known as Barnard's Loop. Centered on the celestial equator, this starscape can be enjoyed by star gazers from around the world with the help of modest amateur astro-photographic equipment.
- Messier 78 (or M78), and also known as NGC 2068 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was included in Charles Messier's catalog of comet-like objects in 1780. It is about 1,350 light-years distant from Earth, and is easily found with small telescopes as a hazy patch that involves two stars of 10th and 11th magnitude. These two type-B stars, HD 38563 A and HD 38563 B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light. The nebula is sometimes referred to "Casper the Friendly Ghost", because of its apparent resemblance to two (2) dis-embodied eyes coming forward through space-clouds.
- Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 was catalogued by American astronomer, Beverly Turner Lynds, who as a result of her study of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey ("POSS_1") compiled and published her survey of dark nebulae in 1962. LDN1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible with a telescope, and using long photographic exposure techniques. To some, the dark shape looks like a mythical Boogeyman. LDN1622 lies near the galactic plane of our home Milky Way Galaxy, and close in the sky to Barnard's Loop. With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN1622 is thought to lie at a similar distance to that of M78, perhaps 1,500 light-years away. Young, recently formed stars lie hidden deep within the dark expanse; but they have been revealed in infrared images captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope.
- Barnard's Loop (catalogue designation Sh2-276) is an emission nebula that takes the form of a large arc centered approximately on M42, the Great Orion nebula. The bright, powerful stars in the Orion nebula are believed to be responsible for ionizing the loop and making it visible. It is thought to have originated from a supernova explosion that occurred about 2 million years ago when glaciers were still prominent and the Woolly Mammoth roamed the Earth. Although the faint Loop nebula was observed by earlier astronomers, it is named after the pioneering astrophotographer Edward E. Barnard who is generally regarded as the "father of modern astrophotography", and the first to photograph the loop and publish a description of it in 1894. The loop cloud is best seen in long-exposure photographs, although observers under very dark skies may be able to just make it out with the naked (unaided) eye by using averted vision.
When combined into a single field-of-view, these 3 objects create a mosaic starscape that is both beautiful and iconic. The image above spans more than 6 arc-degrees across, which at the distance of these objects equates to almost 150 light-years. From New Zealand to the United Kingdom and all points in between, and in both directions around the globe, this is a favorite composition to capture for astro-imagers whose true love in the hobby is wide-field starscapes.
- Messier 78 (or M78), and also known as NGC 2068 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was included in Charles Messier's catalog of comet-like objects in 1780. It is about 1,350 light-years distant from Earth, and is easily found with small telescopes as a hazy patch that involves two stars of 10th and 11th magnitude. These two type-B stars, HD 38563 A and HD 38563 B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light. The nebula is sometimes referred to "Casper the Friendly Ghost", because of its apparent resemblance to two (2) dis-embodied eyes coming forward through space-clouds.
- Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 was catalogued by American astronomer, Beverly Turner Lynds, who as a result of her study of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey ("POSS_1") compiled and published her survey of dark nebulae in 1962. LDN1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible with a telescope, and using long photographic exposure techniques. To some, the dark shape looks like a mythical Boogeyman. LDN1622 lies near the galactic plane of our home Milky Way Galaxy, and close in the sky to Barnard's Loop. With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN1622 is thought to lie at a similar distance to that of M78, perhaps 1,500 light-years away. Young, recently formed stars lie hidden deep within the dark expanse; but they have been revealed in infrared images captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope.
- Barnard's Loop (catalogue designation Sh2-276) is an emission nebula that takes the form of a large arc centered approximately on M42, the Great Orion nebula. The bright, powerful stars in the Orion nebula are believed to be responsible for ionizing the loop and making it visible. It is thought to have originated from a supernova explosion that occurred about 2 million years ago when glaciers were still prominent and the Woolly Mammoth roamed the Earth. Although the faint Loop nebula was observed by earlier astronomers, it is named after the pioneering astrophotographer Edward E. Barnard who is generally regarded as the "father of modern astrophotography", and the first to photograph the loop and publish a description of it in 1894. The loop cloud is best seen in long-exposure photographs, although observers under very dark skies may be able to just make it out with the naked (unaided) eye by using averted vision.
When combined into a single field-of-view, these 3 objects create a mosaic starscape that is both beautiful and iconic. The image above spans more than 6 arc-degrees across, which at the distance of these objects equates to almost 150 light-years. From New Zealand to the United Kingdom and all points in between, and in both directions around the globe, this is a favorite composition to capture for astro-imagers whose true love in the hobby is wide-field starscapes.