The "Horsehead" Nebula

[Sam Flynn]

The "Horsehead" Nebula in Orion was discovered in February 1888 by Mrs Williamina Fleming, who spotted the by-now-familiar shape when she examined a photographic plate. Here's the original image (photographed on 6th February 1888) placed alongside a more recent one in glorious Technicolor:

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...and here's the pioneering lady astronomer who made the discovery:

http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac287/HowieNina/williamina-fleming.jpg

[Robert Linford]

Also in 1888 : Status Quo formed.

[Mike Covell]

Also in 1888 : Status Quo formed.
And they are still touring, only now in not so glorious technicolour!

Love the pics, of the before and after, although i do love the colour of the newer version, what is that giant light in the oldskool pic?

[Sam Flynn]

Love the pics, of the before and after, although i do love the colour of the newer version, what is that giant light in the oldskool pic?It's an over-exposed image of the star Alnitak, which wasn't visible in the colour photo I posted yesterday. Here's a modern photograph with a wider field of view:

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That wodge of orange just beneath Alnitak is the "Flame" Nebula.

Should you wish to find it, Alnitak is the left-most star in Orion's Belt as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. Don't expect to see much, though - you need long exposures to bring out the level of detail we see in these photographs.

[Chris G.]

Very interesting, Sam. Thanks!

Chris

[Mike Covell]

I suppose it's all just a load of gas, but just imagine what it must be like to travel through something as wonderful as that! It really opens your eyes to our solar system.

[Sam Flynn]

just imagine what it must be like to travel through something as wonderful as that!It's hard to believe, but if you did you probably wouldn't see anything. The nebula is some 16 lightyears wide (95 trillion miles) and, because it's stretched out over such a vast expanse of space, the gas that makes it up is more rarified than some of the best "vacuums" we can produce on Earth.

In short, you'd need to stay a considerable distance away from the Horsehead to be able to see much at all. We're over 1,000 lightyears away from it - which luckily gives us a perfect view!

[Robert Linford]

A beautiful song about Orion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0L--WTMGtE

[Sam Flynn]

Thanks Rob. How I wish I were back in that era, when Jethro Tull were in their heyday! It seemed such an optimistic world, then.