Nebula

The Tadpole Nebula (IC 410) gets its name from two striking tadpole-shaped clouds of dark dust that appear to be swimming towards the center. These “tadpoles” are dense streams of gas and dust, each stretching about 10 lightyears. Within them, new stars may be forming, hidden inside their thick cocoons.

NGC 2467, also known as the “Skull and Crossbones Nebula,” is a region where new stars are being born. Some people think it looks like a grinning skull, while others see the face of a colorful mandrill.

I don’t think it will overly tax your imagination to see why NGC 6357 is nicknamed the Lobster Nebula. Or perhaps you think it resemblances a crab more?

Near the bright star Sadr (grossly over exposed in the image) at the center of the Northern Cross lies the Butterfly Nebula. Its nickname comes from its intricate shape that somewhat resembles a butterfly with its delicate wings outstretched.

The lesser-known Cat’s Paw Nebula (officially NGC 6334) is a region teeming with activity – another stellar nursery where stars are born from swirling contracting clouds of gas and dust.

The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as M27, is a stunning cloud of gas and dust, located about 1,360 light-years away from Earth. One of the brightest and most beautiful nebulae in the night sky, it is especially known for its vibrant colors and distinctive shape, which resembles a dumbbell or an hourglass.

M1, the Crab Nebula, is the debris left by the death of a massive star when it exploded in a brilliant flash of light and energy nearly a thousand years ago. We can see many intricate details in the remains left by that supernova – wispy tendrils of gas and dust intertwine illuminated by the intense radiation emitted by the pulsar at its core.

The Jellyfish Nebula gets its name from its striking resemblance to the graceful tendrils of a jellyfish swimming through the cosmic sea. It is a testament to the dynamic and chaotic nature of the universe, where destruction begets creation on a mind boggling scale.

Here’s an image of NGC 1491 (also designated Sharpless Sh2-206), a faint emission nebula that has an interesting shape. Some sources give it the name Fossil Footprint nebula.

The Helix Nebula is a stunning example of a planetary nebula -— a glowing shell of ionized gas expelled by a dying star. The star expels its outer layers of gas, leaving only its small, hot core. Radiation from the core energizes that gas, causing it to glow in a rainbow of colors. About 650 light-years away, the Helix is one of the closest and brightest such nebulae.

Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in the northern constellation Cassiopeia? Possibly not, but that is where two bright emission nebulas nicknamed Heart and Soul can be found – soulmates you could say. (Groan)

M17, another vast region of interstellar gas and dust, is most commonly known as the Omega Nebula or the Swan Nebula. The complex measures 15 light-years across and is about 5,000 light-years from Earth.

The Wizard Nebula is a cosmic cloud surrounding open star cluster NGC 7380. Over the years it has earned its sorcerous nickname because of its similarity in appearance to a medieval magician in a pointed hat. (It does take a little imagination!)

The Tulip Nebula is a glowing cloud of interstellar gas and dust and gets its name from the flower it appears to resemble in photographs. While a pretty sight itself, the Tulip has an interesting neighbor.

The Trifid Nebula, M20, is a beautiful gaseous cloud within which new stars are being born. It is one of several spectacular telescopic sights embedded in the summer and autumn Milky Way.

The Eagle Nebula M16, one of the brightest night sky nebulae, is an area where stars are actively forming. It is filled with dark regions and globules, including a peculiar dark column named the “Stellar Spire”. Of special note are the “Pillars of Creation” made famous by an early (1995) picture from the Hubble Space Telescope. The pillars and spire are collapsing clouds of dust and gas being sculpted by intense starlight from newly formed hot stars.

The Rosette Nebula is one of the more spectacular nebulae in the night sky. It is a huge cloud of glowing gas heated and ionized by stars created only about five million years ago when a giant molecular cloud collapsed to form a new cluster of stars.

I never cease to be amazed at the imagination shown by astronomers over the years in coming up with names to attach to celestial nebulae. Here is a look from last week at Thor’s Helmet, a hat shaped emission nebula with wing-like appendages, more formally known as NGC 2359.

The Pelican Nebula is an emission nebula whose outlines somewhat resemble the namesake bird. The nebula’s appearance is defined by dark dust clouds that outline the pelican’s long bill and eye, and by bright clouds of ionized gas that form the curved shape of the pelican’s head and neck. The pelican’s body and wing are formed by a complex mixture of bright nebulosity intermixed with dark dust clouds, as is the pouch hanging down from the bill.

The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A) is a twisted sinuous structure of interstellar gas and dust that we see back-lit and ionized by intense radiation coming from a nearby massive star. Red light from ionized hydrogen makes it stand out amid the other streams and swirls of dark nebulae.

The Iris Nebula NGC 7023 looks like a celestial blossom. It is a bright reflection nebula whose trademark glowing blue color results from the scattered light of its central star.

The Cocoon Nebula, IC 5146, is a cluster of stars involved in a bright emission/reflection nebula riddled by filaments of dark nebula.

And now, for something completely different. . .

Here’s a fresh look at the wonderful Orion Nebula complex (M42 and M43) and the neighboring Running Man. Although I have shown both before, this new view shows how they are related to each other. This is also a longer exposure than before and has been processed to reveal additional subtle detail.

Here’s a fresh view showing both the Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula, two celestial showpieces that are located quite close to each other in the constellation Orion.

The entire Veil Nebula (also known as the Cygnus Loop) is BIG - it covers over five times the size of the full Moon. My previous three posts were recent images of the three brightest parts of the complex. Here I have mosaicked together five separate older images so you can see the individual parts in relation to each other.

The Veil Nebula is the wispy wreckage of a supernova that exploded some eight thousand years ago. Here we see Pickering’s Triangle, yet another portion of the Veil complex, which is located between the east and west portions that we saw previously.

The large and extensive Veil Nebula deserves another look. Here we see another separate portion, the western part of the nebula.

The Veil Nebula is a portion of the wispy wreckage of a supernova that exploded some eight thousand years ago. Here we see the eastern portion.

Finally, a new object worth sharing: The Crescent Nebula is a faint, loop-shaped nebula forming a partial squashed circle.

Following a stretch of poor weather, I got a chance to take the telescope out again the other night and got a good look at a somewhat whimsical space ghost - the Running Man Nebula.

Although I made this picture back in December, I thought it would be appropriate to wait and post it on Valentine’s Day.

Here are three somewhat whimsical objects.

Merry Christmas! In keeping with the holiday, here is a fresh look at one of my favorite objects, the Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264.

The Pelican Nebula (also known as IC 5070) is an emission nebula whose outlines bear a resemblance to a pelican, giving rise to its name.

The North American Nebula, also known as NGC 7000, is a large emission nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. The name is obvious because the shape of this nebula looks a lot like the continent it was named after.

The Trifid Nebula, M20, is a beautiful gaseous cloud within which new stars are being born. It is one of several spectacular telescopic sights embedded in the summertime Milky Way.

The Lagoon Nebula, M8, is another remarkable region where new stars are being formed. It is a giant glowing cloud of interstellar gas lit up by nearby stars. It is divided by a dark lane of dust and it also contains an embedded cluster NGC 6530 whose stars have been newly formed from the nebular material.

M16, the Eagle Nebula, is one of several spectacular objects now coming into view in the summer evening sky. It has been made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope “Pillars of Creation” photograph - easily the most ubiquitous of all Hubble images.

The Horsehead Nebula consists of a cloud of ionized gas lit from within by young, hot stars; a dark cloud containing interstellar dust lies immediately in front. The dust absorbs the light from part of the ionized cloud. A portion of this dark cloud has a shape somewhat resembling a horse’s head. The nebula is located 1,300 light-years from the Sun.

The Christmas Tree Cluster was named for its triangular shape, formed by a cluster of very young stars, that looks like a tree in visible light. The bright variable star S Monocerotis (near the bottom) marks the base of the Christmas tree and lights up the nearby nebulosity.

The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500 light-years away.

The Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237) is a large spherical H II region (circular in appearance) located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula’s matter.

M1, the Crab Nebula, is the remnant of the spectacular supernova of 1054.

The Orion Nebula M42 is the most spectacular deep-sky object visible through almost any telescope. Other than the moon, there is no other object in the night sky that reveals as much detail as M42. It is visible to the naked eye as the fuzzy central star in Orion’s sword.