Orion
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The nebula Messier 78 (also known as M 78 or NGC 2068 ) is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion . It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet -like objects that same year. M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that include NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 2071. This group belongs to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is about 1,600 light years distant from Earth . M78 is easily found in small telescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th magnitude . These two stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B , are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Messier 43 (also known as M43 , De Mairan's Nebula , and NGC 1982 ) is an H II region in the Orion constellation . It was discovered by Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan before 1731 . The De Mairan's Nebula is part of the Orion Nebula , separated from the main nebula by a lane of dust . It is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex .
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42 , M42 , or NGC 1976 ) is a diffuse nebula situated south [b] of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion . It is one of the brightest nebulae , and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years [ 3 ] [ 6 ] and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth . The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula . [ citation needed ]
Computer generated image of Rigel compared to the Sun (to scale) Rigel (β Ori, β Orionis, Beta Orionis) is the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the sixth brightest star in the sky, with visual magnitude 0.18. Although it has the Bayer designation "beta", it is almost always brighter than Alpha Orionis ( Betelgeuse ). Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified. [ 11 ]
data Coordinates : 05 h 55 m 10.3053 s , +07° 24′ 25.426″ Betelgeuse ( pronunciation: / ˈ b iː t ə l d ʒ uː z / or / ˈ b ɛ t ə l d ʒ uː z / [ 1 ] ), also known by its Bayer designation Alpha Orionis ( α Orionis , α Ori ), is the eighth brightest star in the night sky and second brightest star in the constellation of Orion , outshining Rigel (Beta Orionis) only rarely. Distinctly reddish-tinted, it is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.2 and 1.2, the widest range of any first magnitude star. The star marks the upper right vertex of the Winter Triangle and center of the Winter Hexagon .
Orion , sometimes subtitled The Hunter , is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognisable constellations in the night sky. [ 1 ] Its name refers to Orion , a hunter in Greek mythology . Orion as depicted in Urania's Mirror , a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825 Orion includes the prominent asterism known as the Belt of Orion : three bright stars in a row. Surrounding the belt at roughly similar distances are four bright stars, which are considered to represent the outline of the hunter's body. Descending from the 'belt' is a smaller line of three stars (the middle of which is in fact not a star but the Orion Nebula ), known as the hunter's 'sword'.
My astronomy posts are based on what I talk about each week at Carter Observatory during planetarium shows and telescope viewing sessions. Much of the information is gleaned from the monthly summaries provided by the excellent Alan Gilmore at the University of Cantebury’s Mt John Observatory which can be accessed (for April) here: http://www.rasnz.org.nz/Stars/EveningSky/Apr11Sky.html Personally I remember the main stars, and their colours an then use imaginary lines to navigate the sky, unfortunately this is not particularly well facilitated by the currently available star chats (which are still great though), visible on the right, so I will be editing small portions of the star charts, to allow colour comparison and for general ’prettyness’ (and also to teach myself Inkscape – BTW if you would like to similarly learn here ’s a nice place to start!)