SH2 136: A Spooky Nebula
影像提供: Adam Block, NOAO, AURA, NSF
Explanation:
The dark nebula SH2-136 appears to be celebrating Halloween all of the time. The complex process of star formation create dust clouds of many shapes and sizes -- it is human perception that might identify a ghoulish creature, on the right of the above image, chasing humans. Halloween's modern celebration retains historic roots in dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With our modern calendar, however, the real cross-quarter day will occur next week. Other cross-quarter markers include Groundhog Day and Walpurgis Night.
說明:
暗星雲SH2-136隨時都在歡度萬聖節。恆星誕生的複雜過程會產生形狀和大小不一的塵埃雲，在人類的認知之中，上面影像可能像是被右方幽魂追趕的一群人。現代所慶祝的萬聖節，保留原先奇裝以嚇跑亡靈的歷史起源。從西元前五世紀起，萬聖節成為越區節 ( cross-quarter day)慶典，誌記北半球的春分/秋分 (日夜等長)與夏至/冬至 (最長晝/最長夜)之間的中途日。在我們現代的曆法中，真正的越區節是在下星期，而其他的越區節為土撥鼠日 (Groundhog Day)和華爾普吉斯之夜 (Walpurgis Night)。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
