APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

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APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by APOD Robot » Wed Jun 05, 2019 4:11 am

Image The Interstellar Clouds of Orion

Explanation: The constellation of Orion is much more than three stars in a row. It is a direction in space that is rich with impressive nebulas. To better appreciate this well-known swath of sky, a new long exposure image was taken over several clear nights in January, February and March. After 23 hours of camera time and untold hours of image processing, the featured collage in the light of hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur was produced spanning over 40 times the angular diameter of the Moon. Of the many interesting details that have become visible, one that particularly draws the eye is Barnard's Loop, the bright red orange arc just to the right of the image center. The Rosette Nebula is not the giant orange nebula just to the left of the image center -- that is larger but lesser known nebula known as the Meissa Ring. The Rosette Nebula is visible, though: it is the bright orange, blue and white nebula near the image bottom. The bright orange star just left of the frame center is Betelgeuse, while the bright blue star on the upper right is Rigel. About those famous three stars that cross the belt of Orion the Hunter -- in this busy frame they can be hard to locate, but a discerning eye will find them just to the right of the image center.

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by BDanielMayfield » Wed Jun 05, 2019 4:33 am

Nice way to visualize this wonderful area. Once one has discerned where the (small at this scale) Orion Nebula is you can then find a tiny indentation that is the Horsehead Nebula.
Last edited by BDanielMayfield on Wed Jun 05, 2019 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by starsurfer » Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:40 am

This is a really nice image but would look better north up.

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by orin stepanek » Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:44 am

Beautifully done! :clap: the telescope is the best :rocketship: we have for exploration! 8-)
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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by pferkul » Wed Jun 05, 2019 3:32 pm

Very impressive image! I was wondering if the dark blobs in the lower left corner are real or image processing artifacts? See attached enhanced image. Also similar appearance in upper left corner.
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Orion deep-closeup.jpg

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by ak_astro » Wed Jun 05, 2019 6:07 pm

Thanks all!
pferkul wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 3:32 pm Very impressive image! I was wondering if the dark blobs in the lower left corner are real or image processing artifacts? See attached enhanced image. Also similar appearance in upper left corner.
Yes these are processing artifacts unfortunately:)

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by AVAO » Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:40 pm

What a great wide angle panorama!

What is unclear to me is that the Barnard's Loop should be a SNR, but only half a circle is visible and when you look into the center, there is nothing unusual to discover...

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by neufer » Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:42 pm

AVAO wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:40 pm
What is unclear to me is that the Barnard's Loop should be a SNR, but only half a circle is visible and when you look into the center, there is nothing unusual to discover...
  • Elvis has left the building:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_kinematics#Runaway_stars wrote:
<<A supernova explosion in a multiple star system can accelerate
both the supernova remnant and/or remaining stars to high velocities.


An example of a related set of runaway stars is the case of AE Aurigae, 53 Arietis and Mu Columbae, all of which are moving away from each other at velocities of over 100 km/s (for comparison, the Sun moves through the Milky Way at about 20 km/s faster than the local average). Tracing their motions back, their paths intersect near to the Orion Nebula about 2 million years ago. Barnard's Loop is believed to be the remnant of the supernova that launched the other stars.>>
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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by Boomer12k » Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:45 am

The big picture...after clicking on the image...magnified, is awesome...

There SEEMS to be a LOT of Sulfur....
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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by BDanielMayfield » Thu Jun 06, 2019 4:05 am

Boomer12k wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:45 am There SEEMS to be a LOT of Sulfur....
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This is because there IS a lot of sulfur. From wikipedia's article on sulfur:
32S is created inside massive stars, at a depth where the temperature exceeds 2.5×109 K, by the fusion of one nucleus of silicon plus one nucleus of helium.[18] As this nuclear reaction is part of the alpha process that produces elements in abundance, sulfur is the 10th most common element in the universe.

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:05 pm

Boomer12k wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:45 am The big picture...after clicking on the image...magnified, is awesome...

There SEEMS to be a LOT of Sulfur....
It's a bit dangerous to draw that conclusion from an image like this, where each channel represents a different exposure time, and the processing workflow scales those channels differently, and may even mix data between channels. This image is better at showing what elements are where than it is at showing absolute amounts. For that, you'd want to go back to the raw data and analyze it photometrically. You can't do that with the processed image.
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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by neufer » Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:49 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:05 pm
Boomer12k wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:45 am
There SEEMS to be a LOT of Sulfur....
It's a bit dangerous to draw that conclusion from an image like this, where each channel represents a different exposure time, and the processing workflow scales those channels differently, and may even mix data between channels. This image is better at showing what elements are where than it is at showing absolute amounts. For that, you'd want to go back to the raw data and analyze it photometrically. You can't do that with the processed image.

Code: Select all

Nuclide 	A 	Mass ppm 	Atom ppm
----------------------------------------------------
Hydrogen-1 	1 	705,700 	909,964
------------------------------------------------
Helium-4 	4 	275,200 	88,714
------------------------------------------------
Oxygen-16 	16 	9,592 		477
Carbon-12 	12 	3,032 		326
Nitrogen-14 	14 	1,105 		102
Neon-20 	20 	1,548 		100
------------------------------------------------
Silicon-28 	28 	653 		30
Magnesium-24 	24 	513 		28
Iron-56 	56 	1,169 		27
Sulfur-32 	32 	396 		16
Helium-3 	3 	35 		15
Hydrogen-2 	2 	23 		15
Neon-22 	22 	208 		12
------------------------------------------------
Magnesium-26 	26 	79 		4
Carbon-13 	13 	37 		4
Magnesium-25 	25 	69 		4
Aluminium-27 	27 	58 		3
Argon-36 	36 	77 		3
Calcium-40 	40 	60 		2
Sodium-23 	23 	33 		2
Iron-54 	54 	72 		2
Silicon-29 	29 	34 		2
Nickel-58 	58 	49 		1
Silicon-30 	30 	23 		1
Iron-57 	57 	28 		1 
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by rstevenson » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:05 pm

That's a nice list, Art. What is it a list of? Elements, yes -- presumably elements created inside a star. But a particular star? The progenitor star of this particular SNR?

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by neufer » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:29 pm

rstevenson wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:05 pm
That's a nice list, Art. What is it a list of?

Elements, yes -- presumably elements created inside a star.

But a particular star? The progenitor star of this particular SNR?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_the_chemical_elements wrote:
The table shows the most abundant nuclides [currently] in the Solar System in parts per million (ppm).

The abundance of elements in the Sun and outer planets is similar to that in the [nearby] universe.
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by rstevenson » Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:10 pm

Thanks

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Re: APOD: The Interstellar Clouds of Orion (2019 Jun 05)

Post by AVAO » Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:39 pm

neufer wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:42 pm
AVAO wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:40 pm
What is unclear to me is that the Barnard's Loop should be a SNR, but only half a circle is visible and when you look into the center, there is nothing unusual to discover...
  • Elvis has left the building:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_kinematics#Runaway_stars wrote:
<<A supernova explosion in a multiple star system can accelerate
both the supernova remnant and/or remaining stars to high velocities.


An example of a related set of runaway stars is the case of AE Aurigae, 53 Arietis and Mu Columbae, all of which are moving away from each other at velocities of over 100 km/s (for comparison, the Sun moves through the Milky Way at about 20 km/s faster than the local average). Tracing their motions back, their paths intersect near to the Orion Nebula about 2 million years ago. Barnard's Loop is believed to be the remnant of the supernova that launched the other stars.>>
Great, thank you for your helpful comment!

I like the AE Aurigae star because it's soooooo dynamic ;-)

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