Mastodawn

A mosaic of the coal sack nebula hot off the seestar. The bright star at the top is α Crux and the little cluster on the left is the Jewelbox. #astrodon #astrophotogaphy #space #dust

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Greg Hills Mar 10

@cafuego Huh. TIL the Coal Sack is near Acrux.

(Yes, seriously. For me, up till now, the "Coal Sack" was just one of those nebulae that float around somewhere in the sky, and for some reason I assumed it must be a northern feature but never bothered to track it down.)

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Greg Hills

@cafuego AH, I see the source of my confusion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_(astronomy)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalsack_Nebula

In my childhood I thought that I might like to become an astronomer. Our family even had a 6" reflecting telescope (probably bought for my older brother, who may have had a similar interest but ended up working for IBM instead). What I lacked was the fortitude to sit out in the cold for hours, and any joy in maths, to make it work.

Great Rift (astronomy) - Wikipedia