Posted on Jan 21, 2021

APOD: 2021 January 21 - M78 Wide Field

Maj William W. 'Bill' Price

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Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "M78 Wide Field." Also known as NGC 2068, Messier 78 (M78) was discovered by by Pierre Méchain in early 1780 and cataloged by Charles Messier on December 17, 1780. The nebula belongs to the Orion complex, a large cloud of gas and dust centered on the Orion Nebula M42/M43, and is about 1,350 light years distant. it was classified as a reflection nebula in 1919 based on research by Vesto M. Slipher. On a dark night, you can see it with binoculars above and to the left of the eastern-most star in Orion's belt

The nebula itself is about 5 light years across. The bluish glow is the reflection of light emitted from nearby stars with the same spectrum. The red flecks you see in the dark dust lanes are Herbig-Haro objects, jets of matter being ejected along the axis of rotation of newly-forming stars. The red glow surrounding the entire image indicates the presence of atomic hydrogen gas.

The astrophotographer has shared the technology details behind this photo on astrobin.com. I'll post them in a separate comment.

APOD: 2021 January 21 - M78 Wide Field

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LTC Stephen F.

Posted 3 y ago

Julianna Barwick - Nebula (Official Video)

Pre-order ‘Will’ out May 6, 2016 on Dead OceansDead Oceans: http://smarturl.it/jbarwickiTunes: http://smarturl.it/jbarwick_itAmazon: http://smarturl.it/jbarw...

Thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Thursday, January 21, 2020 entitled "M78 Wide Field."

Image: M78 Wide Field - Image Credit & Copyright - Wes Higgins
The wonders of modern technology give us access to viewing a section of God's creation in the heavens 1500 light years away.

APOD Background
"Explanation: Interstellar dust clouds and glowing nebulae abound in the fertile constellation of Orion. One of the brightest, M78, is centered in this colorful, wide field view, covering an area north of Orion's belt. At a distance of about 1,500 light-years, the bluish reflection nebula is around 5 light-years across. Its tint is due to dust preferentially reflecting the blue light of hot, young stars. Reflection nebula NGC 2071 is just to the left of M78. Flecks of emission from Herbig-Haro objects, energetic jets from stars in the process of formation, stand out against the dark dust lanes. The exposure also brings out the region's fainter, pervasive reddish glow of atomic hydrogen gas."

Julianna Barwick - Nebula (Official Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSrKW-99so

FYI Maj Robert Thornton Lt Col Charlie Brown COL Mikel J. Burroughs PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Sgt Vance Bonds MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. TSgt David L.PO2 (Join to see) SSG Michael Noll SMSgt David A Asbury SMSgt Lawrence McCarter PO1 H Gene Lawrence SPC Michael Terrell SPC Michael Terrell SSG Samuel Kermon SFC Chuck Martinez SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL

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LTC Stephen F.

3 y

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