Starship Asterisk*

[quote="bystander"][quote="Guest"]Just wanted to let you know that clicking the image on this post, to get to the full size image, leads to a 404 not found.[/quote]
Try [url]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1709/N281_ColesHelm.jpg[/url][/quote]

Yes. Thanks for the note. This has now been fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience. Our bad.
- RJN

[quote="orin stepanek"]Is that fox fur toward the top?[/quote]

No, NGC 281 is another nebula altogether. These two nebulas are not even close.

NGC 281 is in Cassiopeia. [url=http://www.nightsky.at/Photo/StarF/Cassiopeia_50mm.html]Here is a link[/url] to a page where you can see a widefield portrait of Cassiopeia. Mouse over the picture, and you get an annotated version showing you the major stars of Cassiopeia, as well as NGC 281.

The Fox Fur nebula is in Monoceros. Check out [url=http://www.astrogarage.com/site/portals/10/MediaGallery/1/ConeFoxFur_KLH_SC.jpg]this picture of the Fox Fur nebula[/url] and NGC 2264 by Stefano Cancello and Kerry-Ann Ledcky Hepburn. The Fox Fur nebula is right above the bright blue star, 15 or S Monocerotis.

Check out [url=http://www.rasc.ca/sites/default/files/2017%20-%2001%20chart%201.png]this star chart[/url] to get an idea of how far NGC 281, the Pacman Nebula, and NGC 2264, the Fox Fur nebula, are from each other. Cassiopeia with the Pacman is at upper center left. Monoceros with the Fox Fur is at lower center left. Unfortunately, the words Canis Minor have been superimposed on the word Monoceros, making it hard to read.

Ann

[quote="Guest"]Just wanted to let you know that clicking the image on this post, to get to the full size image, leads to a 404 not found.[/quote]
Try [url]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1709/N281_ColesHelm.jpg[/url]

Is that fox fur toward the top?

Just wanted to let you know that clicking the image on this post, to get to the full size image, leads to a 404 not found.

The blue looks so inviting I just want to dive in and swim!

"woka, woka, woka...."...Pacman!!!!

Nice view.

:---[===] *

[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170930.html][img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_170930.jpg[/img] [size=150]Portrait of NGC 281[/size][/url]

[b] Explanation: [/b] Look through the cosmic cloud cataloged as NGC 281 and you might miss the stars of open cluster [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997AJ....113.2116G]IC 1590[/url]. Still, formed [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/ngc281/]within the nebula[/url] that cluster's young, massive stars ultimately power the pervasive [url=http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/emission_nebulae.html]nebular glow[/url]. The eye-catching shapes looming in [url=http://www.astrobin.com/311789/B/?nc=user]this portrait of NGC 281[/url] are sculpted columns and dense [url=http://heritage.stsci.edu/2006/13/index.html]dust globules[/url] seen in silhouette, eroded by intense, energetic winds and radiation from the hot cluster stars. If they survive long enough, the dusty structures could also be sites of future star formation. [url=http://www.google.com/pacman/]Playfully called[/url] the Pacman Nebula because of its overall shape, NGC 281 is about 10,000 light-years away in the constellation [url=http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cas/]Cassiopeia[/url]. This sharp composite image was made through [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071102.html]narrow-band[/url] filters, combining emission from the nebula's hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms in green, red, and blue hues. It spans over 80 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 281.

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