APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

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APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by APOD Robot » Fri Nov 12, 2010 4:57 am

Image NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula

Explanation: Like delicate cosmic petals, these clouds of interstellar dust and gas have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile star fields of the constellation Cepheus. Sometimes called the Iris Nebula and dutifully cataloged as NGC 7023, this is not the only nebula in the sky to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this beautiful digital image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries in impressive detail. Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the dusty clouds glow with a faint reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula may contain complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. As shown here, the bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula is about six light-years across.

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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by Ann » Fri Nov 12, 2010 6:38 am

The Iris Nebula is very pretty! I was happy to see this magnificent cosmic blossom featured as today's APOD! :D

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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by neufer » Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:41 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis wrote:
Image
Fleur-de-lis of Florence
<<Fleur-de-lis is widely thought to be a stylized version of the species Iris pseudacorus. Decorative ornaments that resemble the fleur-de-lis have appeared in artwork from the earliest human civilizations. According to Pierre-Augustin Boissier de Sauvages, an XVIIIth c. French naturalist and lexicographer:

“The old fleurs-de-lis, especially the ones found in our first kings' sceptres, have a lot less in common with ordinary lilies than the flowers called flambas [in Occitan], or irises, from which the name of our own fleur-de-lis may derive. What gives some colour of truth to this hypothesis that we already put forth, is the fact that the French or Franks, before entering Gaul itself, lived for a long time around the river named Luts in the Netherlands. Nowadays, this river is still bordered with an exceptional number of irises —as many plants grow for centuries in the same places—: these irises have yellow flowers, which is not a typical feature of lilies but fleurs-de-lis. It was thus understandable that our kings, having to choose a symbolic image for what would later become a coat of arms, set their minds on the iris, a flower that was common around their homes, and is also as beautiful as it was remarkable. They called it, in short, the fleur-de-lis, instead of the flower of the river of lis. This flower, or iris, looks like our fleur-de-lis not just because of its yellow colour but also because of its shape: of the six petals, or leaves, that it has, three of them are alternatively straight and meet at their tops. The other three on the opposite, bend down so that the middle one seems to make one with the stalk and only the two ones facing out from left and right can clearly be seen, which is again similar with our fleurs-de-lis, that is to say exclusively the one from the river Luts whose white petals bend down too when the flower blooms."

The symbol has featured in modern fiction on historical and mystical themes, as in the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code and other books discussing the Priory of Sion. It recurs in French literature, where examples well-known in English translation include Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier, a character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, and the mention in Dumas's The Three Musketeers of the old custom of branding a criminal with the sign (fleurdeliser). During the reign of Elizabeth I of England, known as the Elizabethan era, it was a standard name for an iris.>>
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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by Redbone » Fri Nov 12, 2010 12:39 pm

Beautiful!

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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by orin stepanek » Fri Nov 12, 2010 12:52 pm

This is a beautiful nebula; APOD does it again. 8-) The Iris is one of my favorite flowers. They come in a beautiful array of colors! :)
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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by biddie67 » Fri Nov 12, 2010 2:28 pm

Wow!! The blue iris became my soul flower the first time I saw one as a child. How fantastic to also find one out in the heavens! Thank you APOD and Daniel López.

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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by emc » Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:18 pm

This video also featured at ESA/Hubble gives an impression of flying to NGC 7023… 8-)
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by BMAONE23 » Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:09 pm

Great ZOOM file Ed.
The end feature in the zoom resembles a Cosmic Wolf head with red glowing eyes

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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by emc » Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:38 pm

Thanks BMAONE23! Hadn’t noticed the glowing red eyed wolf head until you pointed it out… very cool!
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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by mpharo » Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:03 pm

NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12) 2:05 p.m.

I like this pretty flower nebula. It is kind of like the Iris flower of the universe. The Cat's eye nebula is like the rose of the universe. I think that this nebula is a star nusury type of nebula (as opposed to a supernova remnant like the Crab nebula) since it has a lot of stars.



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Re: APOD: NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula (2010 Nov 12)

Post by mexhunter » Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:16 am

Beautiful photography of Daniel.
Congratulations!!!!
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