"The Imperfect Angel Nebula", NGC 2170 // Zombi

We had an error on here earlier - fixed now.

Public nights are here!

Reblog Vs. Repost

In short: reblogging is awesome. Reposting isn't.

4/2/25: We'll be closed tonight due to clouds and rain. We'll try again next week.

Beautiful!

2023 September 26

IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Antoine & Dalia Grelin

Explanation: Do you see the horse’s head? What you are seeing is not the famous Horsehead nebula toward Orion, but rather a fainter nebula that only takes on a familiar form with deeper imaging. The main part of the here-imaged molecular cloud complex is reflection nebula IC 4592. Reflection nebulas are made up of very fine dust that normally appears dark but can look quite blue when reflecting the visible light of energetic nearby stars. In this case, the source of much of the reflected light is a star at the eye of the horse. That star is part of Nu Scorpii, one of the brighter star systems toward the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). A second reflection nebula dubbed IC 4601 is visible surrounding two stars above and to the right of the image center.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230926.html

Young Stars, Stellar Jets via NASA https://ift.tt/mUE9hQK

In case of confusion, the observatory is not open this Wednesday.

As consolation, here's the 'Great Turkey Nebula' of 2020 from Astronomy Picture Of The Day. I wonder what APOD's cooking this year?

The Great Turkey Nebula Imagination Credit & Copyright:Eric Coles

Explanation: Surprisingly reminiscent of The Great Nebula in Orion, The Great Turkey Nebula spans this creative field of view. Of course if it were the Orion Nebula it would be our closest large stellar nursery, found at the edge of a large molecular cloud a mere 1,500 light-years away. Also known as M42, the Orion Nebula is visible to the eye as the middle "star" in the sword of Orion the Hunter, a constellation now rising in planet Earth's evening skies. Stellar winds from clusters of newborn stars scattered throughout the Orion Nebula sculpt its ridges and cavities seen in familiar in telescopic images. Much larger than any bird you might be cooking, this Great Turkey Nebula was imagined to be similar in size to the Orion Nebula, about 13 light-years across. Stay safe and well. (APOD, 2020 Nov. 16).

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201126.html

The Hidden Galaxy, IC 342 // Ondřej Pešák

3/19/25: So far it looks likely to cloud up, but we'll wait a few more hours before deciding whether to hold our public night.

Picture of the Day!

The Pencil Nebula, 800 light-years away and nearly 5 light-years long, is a small part of the Vela supernova remnant. This supernova shock wave travels through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour!

Image credit: Helge Buesing