Halloween and the Ghost Head Nebula
Explanation:
Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical.
Since the fifth century BC,
Halloween has been celebrated as a
cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an
equinox (equal day / equal night) and a
solstice
(minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere).
With our
modern calendar, however, the real
cross-quarter day will occur next week.
Another cross-quarter day is
Groundhog's Day.
Halloween's modern celebration retains
historic roots in dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead.
Perhaps a fitting modern tribute to this ancient holiday is the
above-pictured Ghost Head Nebula taken with the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Appearing similar to the icon of a
fictional ghost,
NGC 2080 is actually a
star forming region in the
Large Magellanic Cloud,
a satellite galaxy of our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
The Ghost Head Nebula spans about 50
light-years and is shown in representative colors.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
