Orion composite image captured and processed over three years at the Jodrell Plank Observatory

 

The Constellation Orion - Composite of images captured and stacked using the Altair Astro 66mm Doublet ED Refractor with a focal reducer and field flattener and the Canon 600d DSLR with a zoom lens at f=18mm. Credit: the Jodrell Plank Observatory Imaging Team 

 The northern winter constellation Orion is now a prominent feature looking south on a clear night. Alpha Orionis, otherwise known as Betelgeuse, is back to its brightest best after a recent period of dimming. Professional astronomers have decided that previous estimates of its size had been too great and now believe it to be a third of what was originally thought. If this is true, estimates of how long this red supergiant star has before it goes supernova will have to be extended.

Other features to note are:

• The bright stars that make up the constellation; Betelgeuse, Bellatrix Alnitak, Alnilam Mintaka, Saiph, and Rigel are at varying distances from the Earth. If we could view the constellation from another planet light years away elsewhere in the Milky Way, it would look quite different.
• Close to the left star in Orion's Belt, Alnitak, you can pick out the emission 'Flame Nebula'

This image of Alnitak and the Flame Nebula was taken at the Jodrell Plank Observatory using the 127mm Meade Apo Refractor.  If you look closely at Alnitak , at about 10 o' clock, you can see one of its two fourth magnitude companion stars. Alnitak is a hot blue supergiant over thirty times more massive and 21,000 times brighter than the Sun. It is estimated to be over 1000 light years distant from Earth.

• Just below Alnitak is the dark  'Horsehead Nebula' created by dust being silhouetted against an emission nebula behind it.

The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1375 light years distant from Earth. It is quite large and seen from our perspective covers approximately 6 square light years. The Horsehead Nebula is a mixture of hydrogen gas and dust. The bright star Sigma Orionis seen to the left and below the nebula is ionizing the gas behind it and causing it to glow, the dust prevents us seeing this and creates the dark Horsehead Nebula as a darker region. The Horsehead Nebula is an active location for the formation of low mass stars. When viewed at infra-red wavelengths the Horsehead Nebula is transformed and glows. The astro-imager Robert Gendler's 'Astro Photo of the Day (APOD)' , created from data captured by large professional telescopes, is well worth a look!

Robert Gendler's Spectacular image of the Horsehead Nebula

• Barnards Loop - the arc of red luminosity that sits to the left and wraps around the three stars that make up Orion's Belt is known as Barnards Loop. The emission nebula is named after the pioneer astrophotographer E E Barnard who photographed and published it in 1894. It is an integral part of the wider Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC) Complex. The stars within the OMC are thought to be responsible for ionizing the gas in the 'Loop' and causing it to emit photons of light. The 'Loop' extends for approximately 10 arc-degrees as viewed from Earth. It is apparent in long exposure photographs but very difficult to spot with the eye even from dark sky locations. The 'Loop' is estimated to be between 440 and 520 light years distant which would imply dimensions between 1000 and 300 light years across. It is believed that the loop is the expanded shock wave from a supernova which occurred in a multiple star system some 2million years ago.

• The Orion Nebula or Messier 42 is located in Orion's Dagger an asterism which is visible to the naked eye from most suburban locations. It is a wonderful sight in binoculars or a small telescope. It is a bright concentration of ionized hydrogen gas and dust and at a distance of approximately 1345 light years is the closest location of massive star formation. Messier 42 is part of the wider Orion Nebula Complex. Messier 42 is 24 light years from side to side and has a mass equivalent to about 2000 Suns. At it's centre is a cluster of bright young and very hot blue stars known as the Trapezium. The red colours seen in the nebula are the result of ionized hydrogen gas the blue colours are created by ultra violet light from the hot young stars being reflected. 

• The Running Man Nebula or NGC 1977 is a reflection nebula located just north of Messier 42. The nebula contains the bright star cluster NGC 1981.

All the staff at the Jodrell Plank Observatory look forward to the dark winter months and in particular to the appearance of the constellation Orion striding across our southern horizon.

Our favourite view of the area around Alnitak taken with the 127mm Meade Apo refractor and Canon 600d DSLR. - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory

Credit: Wikipedia

Between Perseus and Taurus

 

Canon 600d DSLR with 18-55mm EFS lens at f=18mm. Just over an hour of 45 second exposures at ISO1600 stacked and processed by Pip Stakkert.

Our student Reggie Stax spent an hour or two on the 18th and 19th of November trying to capture any 'straggler' Leonid meteors. Sadly he was unsuccessful but inadvertently he managed to take this widefield view including both NGC1499 and M45.

The California Nebula NGC 1499 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus close to the boundary with Taurus. The nebula is so named because it looks like the outline of the American State of California.  It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually. It lies at a distance of approximately 1,000 light years from Earth. It shines due to excitation of the Hydrogen β line in the nebula by the nearby  energetic O7 star, Xi Persei also known as Menkib. Menkib is the bright star to the centre and right of the nebula as seen in the above images.

The Geminids meteor shower is next up and weather permitting should put on a good show on the evening of the 13th and early hours of the 14th of December. The Moon will be out of the way so this year should be good as long as the clouds keep away.

How to observe the Geminids

Another unique astronomical event worth seeing is the conjunction of the Solar system's two largest  planets - Saturn and Jupiter. In reality a vast distance separates the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn but every now and again they line up as viewed from Earth. This year is rather special as to the unaided eye they will appear as one bright star. They will have an apparent separation of only 6 minutes of arc, the last time this happened was in the 1600's. Bearing in mind the 'festive season' its rather nice to have a bright star to observe during December. The planets will be at their closest on the 21st of December 2020 but good views will be had from the the 16th to the25th. The new Moon will also be nearby in the sky just after sunset on each of these days. The planets will only be visible for a short period just after sunset and you will require an unobstructed view to the western horizon. We will try to image this rare event using the Observatory's mobile rig set up in the nearby churchyard. - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Best Mars images 2020

"2020 has been the best year for viewing Mars whilst I have been the Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory. Pip Stakkert and his young assistant Reggie Stax have prepared the above compilation of the best images taken in autumn this year with the Jodrell Plank Observatory's Meade 127mm Apo Refractor located on the coast at the UKs most easterly point.

Sadly the weather has been very poor over the last few nights, so we have been unable to capture any images of Leonid meteors". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Syrtis Major: Mars 11th November 2020

 

Albedo feature: Syrtis Major - 127mm Meade Apo Refractor, x3 Televue Barlow QHY5-11 colour camera. 18% stack of 5000 RGB frames. Credit: Pip Stakkert and Reggie Stax at the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

"The red planet has and continues to, put on a splendid show this year. The atmosphere was not at its most stable when Pip and Reggie captured a number of video clips at about 21:30 pm on the 11th of November. These images were processed from the final clip taken on the night. Mars is now several weeks past opposition and is therefore showing a gibbous phase. As the year advances the phase will decrease and its overall apparent size will decrease as Mars and Earth move further apart and move around their respective orbits.

This week we will be hoping to capture some images of the Leonid Meteor shower using the Observatory's Canon 600d DSLR and the Sky Adventurer 'mini-rig' - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Syrtis Major Planum is a "dark spot" (an albedo feature) located in the boundary between the northern lowlands and southern highlands of Mars just west of the impact basin Isidis in the Syrtis Major quadrangle. It was discovered, on the basis of data from Mars Global Surveyor, to be a low-relief shield volcano, but was formerly believed to be a plain, and was then known as Syrtis Major Planitia. The dark color comes from the basaltic volcanic rock of the region and the relative lack of dust. Credit: Wikipedia.