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Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal
Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)
Explanation:
Rich in star clusters and nebulae, the ancient
constellation
of Auriga, the Charioteer,
rides high in northern winter night skies.
Spanning nearly 24 full moons (12 degrees) on the sky,
this
deep telescopic mosaic view recorded in January
shows off some of Auriga's most popular sights for cosmic tourists.
The crowded field sweeps along the plane of our
Milky Way galaxy in the
direction opposite
the galactic center.
Need
directions?
Near the bottom of the frame, at the Charioteer's boundary with Taurus
the Bull, the bright bluish
star Elnath
is known as both Beta Tauri and Gamma Aurigae.
On the far left and almost 300 light-years away, the busy,
looping filaments of supernova remnant
Simeis 147 cover about 150 light-years.
Look toward the right to find emission nebula
IC 410,
significantly more distant, some 12,000 light-years away.
Star forming IC 410 is famous for
its embedded young star cluster, NGC 1893,
and tadpole-shaped clouds of dust and gas.
The Flaming Star Nebula, IC 405,
is just a little farther along.
Its red, convoluted clouds
of glowing hydrogen gas are energized by hot O-type star AE Aurigae.
Two of our galaxy's open star clusters, Charles Messier's
M36
and M38 line up in the
starfield above,
familiar to many binocular-equipped skygazers.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: emission nebula
Publications with words: emission nebula
See also: