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NGC2024
NGC2024 - Horsehead and Flame Nebulae
The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33' in bright
nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the Orion constellation.
The nebula is located just below Alnitak, the easternmost
star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion
Molecular Cloud Complex. It is approximately 1,500 light
years from Earth, and is approximately 3.5 light years wide.
One of the most identifiable nebulae in the sky, it is
part of a swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, shaped like
a horse's head (hence its name). Also known as Barnard 33,
the unusual shape was first discovered in 1888 by Mrs.
Williamina Fleming on photographic plate B2312 taken at the
Harvard College Observatory.
The red glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly
behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma
Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by
thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead's neck
casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the
nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots
in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the
process of forming.
(From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
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The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC
2024, is in the Constellation Orion. It is about
900 to 1,500 light-years away.
The bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori),
the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, shines
energetic ultraviolet light into the Flame and
this knocks electrons away from the great clouds
of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the
glow results when the electrons and ionized
hydrogen recombine. Additional dark gas and dust
lies in front of the bright part of the nebula and
this is what causes the dark network that appears
in the centre of the glowing gas. The Flame Nebula
is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a
star-forming region that includes the famous
Horsehead Nebula.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)
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Information
 | Instrument: William Optics FLT132 |
| Exposure: 4 x 5 min for each LRGB |
| Camera: SBIG STL11Km |
| Date: 24/12/08 |
| Exposure start: 11:30 |
| Location: Thorpdale, Vic |
| Autoguider: William Optics Megrez88FD + Meade DSI2
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| Enhancement: CCD Soft, Adobe Photoshop CS3, |
Notes: Fighting a lot of dew on the guide scope, tracking
was 9.5/10 |
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Just to let
everyone know, public viewing nights are held
every first Friday of the month. Clear or cloudy
nights the public viewing night goes ahead.
Members man a number of telescopes of various
sizes and types, and for those nights where the
sky is cloudy, extended astronomical presentations
are presented in the MPAS Viewing Centre.
So please come
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