by APOD Robot » Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:06 am
Halloween and the Ghost Head Nebula
Explanation: Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC,
Halloween has been celebrated as a
cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an
equinox (equal day / equal night) and a
solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With a
modern calendar however, even though Halloween occurs next week, the real cross-
quarter day will occur the
week after. Another cross-quarter day is
Groundhog Day. Halloween's modern celebration retains
historic roots in
dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead. Perhaps a fitting tribute to this ancient holiday is this view of the
Ghost Head Nebula taken with the
Hubble Space Telescope. Similar to the icon of a
fictional ghost, NGC 2080 is actually a
star forming region in the
Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own
Milky Way Galaxy. The Ghost Head Nebula (
NGC 2080) spans about 50
light-years and is shown in representative colors.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211024.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_211024.jpg[/img] [size=150]Halloween and the Ghost Head Nebula[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] [url=https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween]Halloween's origin[/url] is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween]Halloween[/url] has been celebrated as a [url=https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/halloween-derived-from-ancient-celtic-cross-quarter-day/]cross-quarter day[/url], a day halfway between an [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140922.html]equinox[/url] (equal day / equal night) and a [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151222.html]solstice[/url] (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With a [url=http://webexhibits.org/calendars/year-countries.html]modern calendar[/url] however, even though Halloween occurs next week, the real cross-[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_days]quarter day[/url] will occur the [url=http://www.archaeoastronomy.com/2021.html]week after[/url]. Another cross-quarter day is [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day]Groundhog Day[/url][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbtAFq7dP8].[/url] Halloween's modern celebration retains [url=http://www.neopagan.net/Halloween-Origins.html]historic roots[/url] in [url=https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/halloween-cat-costumes-19-57f75fe01d15b__605.jpg]dressing to scare[/url] away the spirits of the dead. Perhaps a fitting tribute to this ancient holiday is this view of the [url=https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04226]Ghost Head Nebula[/url] taken with the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html]Hubble Space Telescope[/url]. Similar to the icon of a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casper_the_Friendly_Ghost]fictional[/url] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost]ghost[/url], NGC 2080 is actually a [url=https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve]star forming region[/url] in the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100514.html]Large Magellanic Cloud[/url], a satellite galaxy of our own [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html]Milky Way Galaxy[/url]. The Ghost Head Nebula ([url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2080]NGC 2080[/url]) spans about 50 [url=https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html]light-years[/url] and is shown in representative colors.
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