Reader Forums
Astronomy forums are FREE. If you wish to participate you must LOGIN | REGISTER.

General astronomy discussion

What is this Picture of really?
Last post 07-24-2008 08:02 AM by chipdatajeffB. 5 replies.
Sort Posts:
Page 1 of 1 (6 items)
  • 07-23-2008 01:20 PM

    What is this Picture of really?

     

    I know its some kind of star cluster of sorts with a red giant in the center.  Or is this photo just a photo-shopped picture.  If it was photo shopped where can I see the original one and what’s its true name of the cluster?  

     

  • 07-23-2008 01:46 PM In reply to

    • tkerr
    • Joined on 01-02-2004
    • Coastal North Carolina USA.
    • Posts 8,403

    Re: What is this Picture of really?

    Do you have the object name/designation?
    Without being able to get a larger view of it, It looks like the birth of a Planetary Nebula.

    By the looks of it, it is not a PhotoShopped image.  Even if it was, PhotoShop is only used in astrophotography to enhance and or clean up the data collected which is already there thus making it more visible in the final image results.
    Although you could if you wanted, PhotoShop is generally not used to add special effects to images of celestial object we capture.

     

    Have A Nice _________

    Signature
    Tim Kerr
    Healthy mind - healthy body - healthy earth.
    Ad astra
    Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit

    Jacksonville, NC.

    Equipment:
    Orion XT10 Classic, Celestron C6 R-GT w/updated CG5 GT mount, C80ED
    Canon 350D, Phillips SPC900NC
  • 07-23-2008 01:55 PM In reply to

    Re: What is this Picture of really?

     Unfortunately I don’t know the object name/designation that’s something I’d like to know to.  Someone gave me an idea that it might be somewhere around Orion but I’m not to sure if its there or not.

  • 07-23-2008 02:33 PM In reply to

    Re: What is this Picture of really?

    It's the light echo of the supernova of V838 Monocerotis, which is indeed near Orion as was earlier pointed out.

    You can see more images and read about it here.

    Signature
    Visit my Flickr! astrophoto album at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chipdatajeffb/ and our Three Rivers Foundation for the Arts & Sciences website: www.3rf.org.
  • 07-24-2008 03:15 AM In reply to

    Re: What is this Picture of really?

    Wow thanks I’ve been trying to find the real name and location for a while now.  Can't wait to get my new telescope and See it for my self.  Can I get the location of where it is around the Orion region?  

  • 07-24-2008 08:02 AM In reply to

    Re: What is this Picture of really?

    You're going to need a large-ish aperture (at least 10 inches) and a dark sky to see it, as it is now dimmer than mag 15.

    Here are some good articles about the short series of flareups which were first seen in 2002:

    Hubble site

    AAVSO site

    The star is now so dim that a star-hop will be difficult. That is, you could get to the area but not see the star unless you had good conditions and adequate aperture.

    Here's the AAVSO finder chart for it (it's marked by the small cross in the center, between 123 and 120):

    The brightest star in this field (V637) is a variable that hovers around mag 5, which is dim but naked-eye visible from a decent suburban/rural site.

    Signature
    Visit my Flickr! astrophoto album at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chipdatajeffb/ and our Three Rivers Foundation for the Arts & Sciences website: www.3rf.org.
Page 1 of 1 (6 items)
E-mail Address: Password:
Remember me?

Forgot your password » | Login help »

Not a member? Register » | Why join? »

My Profile

Copyright © 2007 Astronomy.com
Powered by Community Server (Commercial Edition), by Telligent Systems