by Ann » Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:35 pm
BDanielMayfield wrote:
I hope this lovely image of M43 is retained and the Explanation is replaced, instead of just plugging in another M42 shot.
Bruce
I hope so too! So I thought I'd fill in a few details about M43 myself. I found
a fine site which has a lot to say about this appendix to the Great Orion Nebula:
(Do) you see how there’s a dark dust lane dividing the great nebula into two parts, one of which is about ten times larger than the other? That smaller part is what Messier 43, or De Mairan’s nebula, actually is!
...
The brightest star in there is a young, hot and ultra-massive blue star, most probably destined to go supernova in only a few million years.
...
A closer inspection reveals that there are actually a great many young stars that have formed inside...
...
Furthermore, what’s incredibly interesting is that the bright, central star would have passed within just 109 light-years of us some 9 million years ago based on its current orbit, making it one of the brightest stars in our sky. But it probably didn’t exist that long ago, having formed much more recently than that!
Whereas the full, main Orion Nebula has many stars illuminating it, there’s only one primary star giving rise to this one, hence it’s often known as either the little, small or miniature Orion Nebula.
I believe that the central star of M43 is Nu Orionis or HD 37061, a star of spectral class O9V.
Ann
[quote="BDanielMayfield"]
I hope this lovely image of M43 is retained and the Explanation is replaced, instead of just plugging in another M42 shot.
Bruce[/quote]
I hope so too! So I thought I'd fill in a few details about M43 myself. I found [url=https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/messier-monday-orions-second-nebula-m43-98db8ea519c9#.85jda5rrz]a fine site[/url] which has a lot to say about this appendix to the Great Orion Nebula:
[quote](Do) you see how there’s a dark dust lane dividing the great nebula into two parts, one of which is about ten times larger than the other? That smaller part is what Messier 43, or De Mairan’s nebula, actually is!
...
The brightest star in there is a young, hot and ultra-massive blue star, most probably destined to go supernova in only a few million years.
...
A closer inspection reveals that there are actually a great many young stars that have formed inside...
...
Furthermore, what’s incredibly interesting is that the bright, central star would have passed within just 109 light-years of us some 9 million years ago based on its current orbit, making it one of the brightest stars in our sky. But it probably didn’t exist that long ago, having formed much more recently than that!
Whereas the full, main Orion Nebula has many stars illuminating it, there’s only one primary star giving rise to this one, hence it’s often known as either the little, small or miniature Orion Nebula.[/quote]
I believe that the central star of M43 is Nu Orionis or HD 37061, a star of spectral class O9V.
Ann