Open Cluster

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.

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.

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)

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.

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 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 Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, are an open star cluster containing hot middle-aged stars in the constellation Taurus. It is among the star clusters nearest to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Most people can see the 6 or 7 brightest stars that form a smallish “dipper” – NOT to be confused with the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor constellation).

Two for the price of one! The Double Cluster consists of two open star clusters, known as H and Chi Persei (also called NGC 884 and 869).

Scattered mostly along the Milky Way are stellar groupings called open clusters, randomly shaped families of mostly young, hot stars that are all gravitationally bound to each other. Most stars are born in such clusters, containing anything between perhaps twenty to a few thousand stars. All of the stars in a given cluster are about the same age, having formed together from the same nebula.

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.