charles

Orion's Cradle



影像版權與提供: Tony Hallas

Explanation:
      Cradled in glowing hydrogen, stellar nurseries in Orion lie at the edge of a giant molecular cloud some 1,500 light-years away. This breath-taking view spans about 13 degrees across the center of the well-known constellation with the Great Orion Nebula, the closest large star forming region, just right of center. The deep mosaic also includes (left of center), the Horsehead Nebula, the Flame Nebula, and Orion's belt stars. Image data acquired with a hydrogen alpha filter adds other remarkable features to this wide angle cosmic vista -- pervasive tendrils of energized atomic hydrogen gas and portions of the surrounding Barnard's Loop. While the Orion Nebula and belt stars are easy to see with the unaided eye, emission from the extensive interstellar gas is faint and much harder to record, even in telescopic views of the nebula-rich complex.

說明:
      獵戶座眾多恆星形成區位在巨大分子雲團的邊緣，離我們大約1,500光年遠，包覆在光亮的氫氣雲之中。這幅動人心弦的影像涵蓋了著名的獵戶座中心大約13度的天區，獵戶座大星雲這個離最鄰近的大型恆星形成區，則在影像的中右方。除此之外，在這幅深場組合影像裡，還可以見到影像中右方的馬頭星雲、火焰星雲和獵戶座的腰帶星。這幅透過氫-阿爾發濾鏡所拍攝的影像，讓無所不在的原子氫雲氣和部份的巴納德環現形，成為這幅廣角影像的其他精彩特色。獵戶座大星雲和腰帶星是肉眼即可見的天體，不過廣垠的暗淡雲氣則很難成像，甚至大部份這片雲氣遍佈區域的望遠鏡影像也是如此。

資料來源: Scientific American
                Department of Physics, NCKU