by andrea_girones » Thu Nov 07, 2024 2:50 am
Whereas most of us seek to understand the bright lights of the Universe, American Astronomer E.E. Barnard sought out the darkness.
This image , shot over 9 hours one evening in November includes 5 dark nebulae know as Barnard 1, 2, 3 ,4 and 5. Barnard B1-B5 belong to the Perseus molecular cloud complex, which is located in a distance of 800 light-years from Earth. The Perseus molecular cloud contains several of the regions in the neighbourhood of the Sun that are most actively forming low- and intermediate-mass stars.
The reflection nebulae regions NGC 1333 (to the lower right in the image) and IC 348 (to the upper left in the image) are embedded in the Perseus molecular cloud.
Since clearly this was the part of space where the Barnard Catalogue of Dark Nebula all started, I wanted to know more about this “Barnard” person. Turns out he was pretty interesting ….
EE Barnard was an American astronomer who, along with Max Wolf, discovered that certain dark regions of the galaxy were actually clouds of gas and dust that obscured the more distant stars in the background. He was considered an “oberve-a-holic” and could be irritated and grumpy when it was cloudy ( hmmmmm…. sounds familiar….) He entered a comet hunting contest to earn money and ended up discovering 17 comets.
He was also a prolific astrophotographer, pioneering long exposures of the milky way as well as a devoted astronomer. His Barnard Catalogue lists a series of dark nebulae, known as Barnard objects, giving them numerical designations akin to the Messier catalog. They begin with Barnard 1 and end with Barnard 370. He published his initial list in a 1919 paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, titled "On the Dark Markings of the Sky with a Catalogue of 182 such Objects".
In 1916, Barnard discovered the second closest star system to the Sun. This star, which moves across our sky faster than any other, is now known as Barnard's Star. This is a departure from astronomical tradition, where most stars either have names from ancient mythology, or no names at all.
You may also be familiar with Barnards’ loop, located near the Orion Nebula.
It was fun to learn more about him.
The Absence of light- annotated by
Andrea Girones, on Flickr
The Absence of light by
Andrea Girones, on Flickr
Whereas most of us seek to understand the bright lights of the Universe, American Astronomer E.E. Barnard sought out the darkness.
This image , shot over 9 hours one evening in November includes 5 dark nebulae know as Barnard 1, 2, 3 ,4 and 5. Barnard B1-B5 belong to the Perseus molecular cloud complex, which is located in a distance of 800 light-years from Earth. The Perseus molecular cloud contains several of the regions in the neighbourhood of the Sun that are most actively forming low- and intermediate-mass stars.
The reflection nebulae regions NGC 1333 (to the lower right in the image) and IC 348 (to the upper left in the image) are embedded in the Perseus molecular cloud.
Since clearly this was the part of space where the Barnard Catalogue of Dark Nebula all started, I wanted to know more about this “Barnard” person. Turns out he was pretty interesting ….
EE Barnard was an American astronomer who, along with Max Wolf, discovered that certain dark regions of the galaxy were actually clouds of gas and dust that obscured the more distant stars in the background. He was considered an “oberve-a-holic” and could be irritated and grumpy when it was cloudy ( hmmmmm…. sounds familiar….) He entered a comet hunting contest to earn money and ended up discovering 17 comets.
He was also a prolific astrophotographer, pioneering long exposures of the milky way as well as a devoted astronomer. His Barnard Catalogue lists a series of dark nebulae, known as Barnard objects, giving them numerical designations akin to the Messier catalog. They begin with Barnard 1 and end with Barnard 370. He published his initial list in a 1919 paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, titled "On the Dark Markings of the Sky with a Catalogue of 182 such Objects".
In 1916, Barnard discovered the second closest star system to the Sun. This star, which moves across our sky faster than any other, is now known as Barnard's Star. This is a departure from astronomical tradition, where most stars either have names from ancient mythology, or no names at all.
You may also be familiar with Barnards’ loop, located near the Orion Nebula.
It was fun to learn more about him.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2qsCrjP][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54122593095_d3ec0e913e_k.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2qsCrjP]The Absence of light- annotated[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/198200988@N02/]Andrea Girones[/url], on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2qsBv3f][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54122410478_0916ba6ad5_k.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2qsBv3f]The Absence of light[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/198200988@N02/]Andrea Girones[/url], on Flickr