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Credit & Copyright: Alistair Symon
Explanation:
What's up in the sky from Auriga to Orion?
Many of the famous stars and nebulas in this region were captured on 34 separate
images,
taking over 430 hours of exposure, and digitally combined to reveal the
featured image.
Starting on the far upper left, toward the constellation of Auriga (the Chariot driver),
is the picturesque
Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405).
Continuing down along the bright arc of our
Milky Way Galaxy, from left to right crossing the
constellations of the Twins and the Bull, notable appearing nebulas include the
Tadpole,
Simeis 147,
Monkey Head,
Jellyfish,
Cone and
Rosette nebulas.
In the upper right quadrant of the image,
toward the constellation of Orion (the hunter),
you can see
Sh2-264,
the half-circle of Barnard's Loop, and the
Horsehead and
Orion nebulas.
Famous stars in and
around Orion include, from left to right, orange
Betelgeuse (just right of the image center), blue
Bellatrix (just above it),
the
Orion belt stars of Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak,
while bright Rigel appears on the far upper right.
This stretch of sky
won't be remaining up
in the night very long -- it will be setting
continually earlier in the evening as
mid-year approaches.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Orion - Auriga
Publications with words: Orion - Auriga
See also: