Fabien Chereau released #Stellarium version 26.1. https://stellarium.org/

@oheso From using #Stellarium app last night, that should be Jupiter.

Starbirth fireworks

What is more majestic than the fireworks of stars being born?

The region visible in the center of the Orion constellation is a region of star birth, also called the Orion complex. Material from earlier star deaths (like supernovae) forms dust and gas clouds that, if dense enough, start the formation process of new stars. During and after the formation of a star, it flings out a lot of material and radiation that push away less dense material. The radiation ionizes the atoms in the surrounding area, making them emit visible light during recombination, resulting in emission nebulae. Reflection nebulae on the other hand reflect light from nearby stars.

The brightest area at the bottom of the image is the Great Orion Nebula (M 42), where hydrogen is especially excited, emitting red light. Surrounding dust clouds obstruct the nebula or reflect the light from the newborn stars, giving it the form we see in the night sky. It is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye on dark nights.

Just above the Orion Nebula is the Running Man Nebula (NGC 1977). The reflection nebula is visible here, while there is also a hydrogen II emission nebula that is too faint to see.

In the top part of the image is an elongated red nebula, also called the Horsehead Nebula (IC 434). It is a large hydrogen II emission nebula whose view is obstructed by a dark nebula in the shape of a horse’s head.

Above and to the left is the orange Flame Nebula (NGC 2024). From what I could find, the color is the result of a combination of hydrogen II emission (red), oxygen III emission (green), reflected light from the nearby blue star Alnitak (ζ Orionis), as well as dust in front of the nebula filtering its visible spectrum.

This image was created with 658 × 2 s (21 m 56 s) integration time. I had to cut the session short as clouds were forming earlier than expected, but I got the image I was aiming for. I used #Stellarium to frame the image and processed it with #Siril, #GIMP, and #GMIC.

Happy New Year!

Nikon D500, Sigma 105mm EX DG OS HSM, 105 mm, f/2.8, 658x2 s, ISO 3200, tripod, no tracker
#Nebulae #Orion #OrionNebula #FlameNebula #HorseheadNebula #astrophotography #photography #germany #digikam

Fabien Chereau released #Stellarium version 25.4. https://stellarium.org/