The Winter Hexagon, also known as the Winter Circle, is a prominent winter asterism formed by seven stars prominent in the winter sky. These are Rigel in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus, Capella in Auriga, Castor and Pollux in Gemini, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major constellation. Sirius and Procyon are also part … [Read more…]
The Flame Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Orion, the Hunter. The nebula lies at an approximate distance of 1,350 light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 2. It has the designation NGC 2024 in the New General Catalogue. The Flame Nebula occupies an area of 30 arcminutes of … [Read more…]
The Coalsack Nebula is one of the best known dark nebulae in the sky, along with the nearby Dark Doodad Nebula and the Horsehead Nebula. The Coalsack is located in the southern constellation Crux and overlaps into the neighbouring constellations Musca and Centaurus. The dark cloud of cold gas and dust lies at a distance … [Read more…]
Orion’s Belt is one of the most familiar asterisms in the night sky, along with the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross. It is formed by three massive, bright stars located in our galaxy, in the direction of the constellation Orion, the Hunter: Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka. Two of the three stars are supergiants.
The Horsehead Nebula is a famous diffuse dark nebula found in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex in the constellation Orion. It is a dark cloud composed of dust and gas where star formation is taking place. The nebula is also known as Barnard 33, and is located in the emission nebula IC 434. The Horsehead … [Read more…]