APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

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APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:09 am

Image Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir

Explanation: If you can find Orion, you might be able to find the Winter Hexagon. The Winter Hexagon involves some of the brightest stars visible, together forming a large and easily found pattern in the winter sky of Earth's northern hemisphere. The stars involved can usually be identified even in the bright night skies of a big city, although here they appeared recently in dark skies above the Manla Reservoir in Tibet, China. The six stars that compose the Winter Hexagon are Aldebaran, Capella, Castor (and Pollux), Procyon, Rigel, and Sirius. Here, the band of our Milky Way Galaxy runs through the center of the Winter Hexagon, while the Pleiades open star cluster is visible just above. The Winter Hexagon asterism engulfs several constellations including much of the iconic steppingstone Orion.

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Tsukalos

Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Tsukalos » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:41 am

Contrived asterism is contrived.

But it is it a pretty picture with a small Gandalf in front conjuring some cheap tricks over the water. :lol2:

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by mfavret » Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:46 am

I'm french and I hope that you will excuse my poor English.

When I learned the winter sky, many years ago, my astronomers friends teached me another asterism including ALL the brightest stars of this part of the sky, including the Orion's "shoulders" Bellatrix and Betelgeuse.

This is the "big G" of winter : starting with Aldebaran, then Capella and it's neighbour Menkalinan (Bet Aur, that's produce a more "round" shape), Castor and Pollux, Procyon and Sirius, Rigel, and last the right line of the "G" formed with Bellatrix and Betelgeuse.

You can see it on the simple sky map included my "the monthly sky" (Le ciel du mois), the most visited page of my professionnal web site (I teach the sky in schools with an inflatable planetarium as you can read in the others pages -in French, sorry-) :

http://www.constellationsetgalaxies.org/cielmois.html

I don't know if it's a specific way to draw the winter sky in France or Europe ?!?

Michel FAVRET

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Boomer12k » Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:09 am

I see 7 sides, and angles, though the one is very short... a heptagon... a 7 sided Polygon...

Or is it just me and the short piece, lower left, is not counted?

Hope to have some clear but cold weather...
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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Ann » Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:13 am

Tsukalos, I tried to spot Gandalf, but I think I failed!

And Michel Favret, I like your G, but I'm sorry to see you missed the Pleiades!

Ann
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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Holger Nielsen » Mon Jan 23, 2017 8:39 am

"Gandalf" is standing at the bottom centre of the picture with his back to the viewer...

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by ta152h0 » Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:30 am

I like this. Some Sirius imaging
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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by heehaw » Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:42 am

Ah, how I remember back when, long ago, as a young boy, I looked out of my window: and suddenly realized that I was actually SEEING what was in my book: I pronounced it "Ory - On!"

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Guest » Mon Jan 23, 2017 12:23 pm

Ann wrote:Tsukalos, I tried to spot Gandalf, but I think I failed!

And Michel Favret, I like your G, but I'm sorry to see you missed the Pleiades!

Ann
I don't see Gandalf as well; either not enough imagination or not enough beer. But I do see what looks like a 'red' emission nebula just to the right of center that looks like a giant tadpole in space. Maybe multiples that kind of line up just right?

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Jan 23, 2017 2:01 pm

Ann wrote:Tsukalos, I tried to spot Gandalf, but I think I failed!
gandalf.jpg
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Ann
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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by Ann » Mon Jan 23, 2017 2:49 pm

Thanks, Chris!

And welcome, Holger! (Well, it's your second post, not your first, but still...)

You're a Dane, like Chris, aren't you?

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by bystander » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:52 pm

Boomer12k wrote:I see 7 sides, and angles, though the one is very short... a heptagon... a 7 sided Polygon...

Or is it just me and the short piece, lower left, is not counted?

Castor should not be included in the Winter Hexagon. The segment should go directly from Capella to Pollux.
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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by neufer » Mon Jan 23, 2017 8:20 pm

bystander wrote:
Castor should not be included in the Winter Hexagon. The segment should go directly from Capella to Pollux.
Mortals get no respect.

Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable?
Quite easily, I should think.
All nonsense questions are unanswerable.
- C. S. Lewis
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by ta152h0 » Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:01 pm

mere mortals even less, and I am being Sirius here
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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by saturno2 » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:01 am

Beautiful Image

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by MarkBour » Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:24 am

neufer wrote:
bystander wrote:
Castor should not be included in the Winter Hexagon. The segment should go directly from Capella to Pollux.
Mortals get no respect.

Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable?
Quite easily, I should think.
All nonsense questions are unanswerable.
- C. S. Lewis
Okay, Clive, but in that case "unanswerable" is made unsatisfyingly fuzzy.
Mark Goldfain

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Re: APOD: Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir (2017 Jan 23)

Post by neufer » Tue Jan 24, 2017 8:00 pm

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
MarkBour wrote:
neufer wrote:
Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable?
Quite easily, I should think.
All nonsense questions are unanswerable.


- Clive Staples Lewis
Okay, Clive, but in that case "unanswerable"
is made unsatisfyingly fuzzy.
Art Neuendorffer