APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

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APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by APOD Robot » Thu Aug 22, 2013 4:09 am

Image IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula

Explanation: The prominent ridge of emission featured in this dramatic skyscape is cataloged as IC 5067. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The Pelican Nebula, the ridge spans about 10 light-years following the curve of the cosmic pelican's head and neck. This false color view also translates the pervasive glow of narrow emission lines from atoms in the nebula to a color palette made popular in Hubble Space Telescope images of star forming regions. Fantastic, dark shapes inhabiting the 1/2 degree wide field are clouds of cool gas and dust sculpted by the winds and radiation from hot, massive stars. Close-ups of some of the sculpted clouds show clear signs of newly forming stars. The Pelican Nebula, itself cataloged as IC 5070, is about 2,000 light-years away. To find it, look northeast of bright star Deneb in the high flying constellation Cygnus.

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by saturno2 » Thu Aug 22, 2013 7:30 am

The Pelican Nebula ( in false color ) looks very dense.

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Aug 22, 2013 7:41 am

saturno2 wrote:The Pelican Nebula ( in false color ) looks very dense.
And as nebulas go, it is. But the actual dust density is orders of magnitude less than the dust density of your living room (which isn't an indictment of your housekeeping skills!) and the gas density even lower yet. We can still see light years deep into the nebula; looking through Earth’s atmosphere, a few hundred miles is enough to attenuate to near opacity.
Chris

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by Boomer12k » Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:36 am

Looks more like the Antelope Nebula...just this section anyway...I see horns over the top, an eye, and a snout...but there I go "seeing" things again...

But it is a striking image...even in false color.

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by Dafyd » Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:03 am

I'm struggling with my almost forgotten high school math and so I could well be wrong but I seem to remember that the size of an object is equal to the sine of the angle that it subtends multiplied by its distance. If I'm right then I wonder about the quoted size of “about 10 light years” for the “prominent ridge of emission”. The width of the image is ½ degree and the distance is given as 2,000 light years. I realise that these figures are probably rounded for convenience of presentation but taken at face value the size of the width of the image would seem to be sin(½) x 2000 which equals about 17½ light years. I'm not sure what the “prominent ridge of emission” comprises but if it is the distinctive back-lit double-hump-like object close to the centre of the image it can't be more than 8 minutes of arc across in which case its size should be close to 17½ x 8/30 light years which equals about 4.7 light years. It would be interesting to know if I need to go back to school.

BTW I just love APOD, visit just about every day and greatly appreciate the work that goes into it..

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by neufer » Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:56 am

Dafyd wrote:
I'm struggling with my almost forgotten high school math and so I could well be wrong but I seem to remember that the size of an object is equal to the sine of the angle that it subtends multiplied by its distance. If I'm right then I wonder about the quoted size of “about 10 light years” for the “prominent ridge of emission”. The width of the image is ½ degree and the distance is given as 2,000 light years. I realise that these figures are probably rounded for convenience of presentation but taken at face value the size of the width of the image would seem to be sin(½) x 2000 which equals about 17½ light years. I'm not sure what the “prominent ridge of emission” comprises but if it is the distinctive back-lit double-hump-like object close to the centre of the image it can't be more than 8 minutes of arc across in which case its size should be close to 17½ x 8/30 light years which equals about 4.7 light years.

It would be interesting to know if I need to go back to school.
  • Possibly...but for English not Math. (You forgot to include the "neck".)
APOD Robot wrote:
Explanation: Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The Pelican Nebula,
the ridge spans about 10 light-years following the curve of the cosmic pelican's head and neck.
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by Dafyd » Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:19 pm

Touché. Thanks for the reply.

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by Beyond » Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:37 pm

neufer wrote:(you forgot to include the "neck".)
Of course! Everyone leaves out the neck. It's too tough to chew :!:
To find the Truth, you must go Beyond.

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by neufer » Thu Aug 22, 2013 5:54 pm

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Beyond wrote:
neufer wrote:
(you forgot to include the "neck".)
Of course! Everyone leaves out the neck. It's too tough to chew :!:
So...you're more of a Beakman then :?:
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by Beyond » Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:03 pm

ha-ha, NOT hardly :!: :no:
To find the Truth, you must go Beyond.

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Re: APOD: IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula (2013 Aug 22)

Post by DavidLeodis » Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:17 am

In the information about the image (brought up through the "this dramatic skyscape" link) it states "OBJETO NGC 6888, NEBULOSA CRESCENT. UBICACION OBSERVATORIO INFRARED, LEON, 15, 26, 27, 28 JUNIO 2013". It would seem therefore that "NEBULOSA CRESCENT" (Crescent Nebula) is an error, so I wonder if the other details may also be an error. I like to know when and where APODs were taken as I find it adds to their interest, so my query is purely for that and is no way a criticism of this interesting and excellent photograph.

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