APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

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APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by APOD Robot » Sun Nov 01, 2015 4:11 am

Image The Milky Way Over Monument Valley

Explanation: You don't have to be at Monument Valley to see the Milky Way arch across the sky like this -- but it helps. Only at Monument Valley USA would you see a picturesque foreground that includes these iconic rock peaks called buttes. Buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water has eroded away the surrounding soft rock. In the featured image taken in 2012, the closest butte on the left and the butte to its right are known as the Mittens, while Merrick Butte can be seen just further to the right. High overhead stretches a band of diffuse light that is the central disk of our spiral Milky Way Galaxy. The band of the Milky Way can be spotted by almost anyone on almost any clear night when far enough from a city and surrounding bright lights.

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Boomer12k » Sun Nov 01, 2015 3:13 pm

Just Awesome!

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by scorpio43 » Sun Nov 01, 2015 4:37 pm

I was curious about the Dancing Stallion above the galactic core in today's picture. Alas, I searched APOD and google and found nothing... Can someone help find this asterism? Thanks in advance.... :?:

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Ann » Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:19 pm

scorpio43 wrote:I was curious about the Dancing Stallion above the galactic core in today's picture. Alas, I searched APOD and google and found nothing... Can someone help find this asterism? Thanks in advance.... :?:
Coathanger asterism.
Photo: Fine Art America.
There is no Dancing Stallion asterism in the sky. There is, however, a Coathanger asterism.

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by jisles » Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:21 pm

It's "North America Nebula", not "North American Nebula".

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Chris Peterson » Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:28 pm

scorpio43 wrote:I was curious about the Dancing Stallion above the galactic core in today's picture. Alas, I searched APOD and google and found nothing... Can someone help find this asterism? Thanks in advance.... :?:
It's not an asterism (which is a shape perceived in stars), but rather, a dusty region of the Milky Way. It is more commonly called the Dark Horse Nebula, a well-known and popular showpiece of unaided nighttime viewing.
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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Chris Peterson » Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:31 pm

jisles wrote:It's "North America Nebula", not "North American Nebula".
Well, that's broadly true by convention, but since there is no official naming for nebulas outside of catalog numbers, it's not obvious that any common name can really be called wrong.
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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by starsurfer » Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:57 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
jisles wrote:It's "North America Nebula", not "North American Nebula".
Well, that's broadly true by convention, but since there is no official naming for nebulas outside of catalog numbers, it's not obvious that any common name can really be called wrong.
Everywhere the popular name of NGC 7000 is mentioned, it is referred to as North America Nebula. It feels good to be pedantic. :D :lol2:

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by LocalColor » Sun Nov 01, 2015 6:00 pm

Wonderful image. Amazed that the photographer found a spot with no power lines.

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by neufer » Sun Nov 01, 2015 7:09 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
jisles wrote:
It's "North America Nebula", not "North American Nebula".
Well, that's broadly true by convention, but since there is no official naming for nebulas outside of catalog numbers, it's not obvious that any common name can really be called wrong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America_Nebula wrote:
<<The North American Nebula and the nearby Pelica Nebula, (IC 5070)
are in fact parts of the same interstellar cloud of ionized hydrogen (H II region).>>
Art Neuendorffer

Tekija

Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Tekija » Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:05 pm

starsurfer wrote:
Chris Peterson wrote:
jisles wrote:It's "North America Nebula", not "North American Nebula".
Well, that's broadly true by convention, but since there is no official naming for nebulas outside of catalog numbers, it's not obvious that any common name can really be called wrong.
Everywhere the popular name of NGC 7000 is mentioned, it is referred to as North America Nebula. It feels good to be pedantic. :D :lol2:
Shall we resolve that with a fight?

http://www.googlefight.com/%22north+ame ... ula%22.php

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Chris Peterson » Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:12 pm

Tekija wrote:
starsurfer wrote:
Chris Peterson wrote: Well, that's broadly true by convention, but since there is no official naming for nebulas outside of catalog numbers, it's not obvious that any common name can really be called wrong.
Everywhere the popular name of NGC 7000 is mentioned, it is referred to as North America Nebula. It feels good to be pedantic. :D :lol2:
Shall we resolve that with a fight?

http://www.googlefight.com/%22north+ame ... ula%22.php
Heck, I call it the Schnerfelbock Nebula. Just because nobody knows what the heck I'm talking about, that doesn't make it wrong.
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quigley

Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by quigley » Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:02 am

This glorious shot brings back memories of a family vacation from my pre-teen years when we stayed at Goulding's Lodge in Monument Valley. The velvet black sky was not only spectacular with stars, but also with bats circling around the base of one of the buttes where Goulding's is situated. Back then we were called to a cowboy-style dinner by the ringing of a triangle at the chuck hall. The place has been updated over the years, however it is still a terrific place for sky-gazing in an old-west atmosphere.

harmount

Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by harmount » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:13 am

Standing in MS, as I look out toward the galactic arm, am I tangent or perpendicular to the center? Or some where in between? Looking up from the desert floor, it seems that I am not quite perpendicular, but angular to the arm. Just trying to get a bearing... Lynn Harmount

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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Ann » Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:54 am

Chris wrote:
Heck, I call it the Schnerfelbock Nebula. Just because nobody knows what the heck I'm talking about, that doesn't make it wrong.
Image
Schnerfelbock Nebula?
But it makes it a bit impractical if you want to talk to others about it.

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Last edited by Ann on Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:09 am

Ann wrote:
Heck, I call it the Schnerfelbock Nebula. Just because nobody knows what the heck I'm talking about, that doesn't make it wrong.
But it makes it a bit impractical if you want to talk to others about it.
Indeed it does. But I expect if you use the much less common "North American Nebula", there will be little confusion.
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Re: APOD: The Milky Way Over Monument Valley (2015 Nov 01)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:14 am

harmount wrote:Standing in MS, as I look out toward the galactic arm, am I tangent or perpendicular to the center? Or some where in between? Looking up from the desert floor, it seems that I am not quite perpendicular, but angular to the arm. Just trying to get a bearing... Lynn Harmount
We don't really see a "galactic arm". We're embedded in the disk of the Milky Way. So we see it as a ring that encircles the Earth, brightest and thickest at the galactic center (looking inwards). We only see half this ring at a time, as the other half is below the horizon. In an image like the one here, the planar disk appears curved, but that's just a projection artifact. The centerline of the Milky Way "arch" really is a line.
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