APOD: Melotte 15 in the Heart (2010 Sep 25)

[neufer]

<<Eugene the Jeep is a character in the Popeye comic strip. A mysterious animal with magical abilities, the Jeep first appeared in the March 16, 1936, appearance of Thimble Theatre strip. He was also present in animated versions of Popeye's adventures, including three appearances in the Fleischer Studios shorts [briefs?] of the late 1930s/early 1940s.

In the August 9, 1936, strip, headlined "Wha's a Jeep?" Popeye asks Professor Brainstine [a.k.a, Chris Peterson] what exactly a Jeep is. He gets the following response:

• “A Jeep is an animal living in a three dimensional world—in this case our world—but really belonging to a fourth dimensional world. Here's what happened. A number of Jeep life cells were somehow forced through the dimensional barrier into our world. They combined at a favorable time with free life cells of the African Hooey Hound. The electrical vibrations of the Hooey Hound cell and the foreign cell were the same. They were kindred cells. In fact, all things are, to some extent, relative, whether they be of this or some other world, now you see. The extremely favorable conditions of germination in Africa caused a fusion of these life cells. So the uniting of kindred cells caused a transmutation. The result, a mysterious strange animal.”

When asked if he had any further questions, Popeye, totally unenlightened by this explanation, repeated, "Wha's a Jeep?"

The animated cartoons took the straightforward approach of defining the character as some type of dog. In The Jeep (1938), Popeye presents the animal to Olive Oyl and Swee'Pea with the simple explanation, "The Jeep's a magical DOG and can disappear and things." In Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep (1940), it is Popeye who receives the creature from Olive, in a box via a special delivery man (voiced by Pinto Colvig), and with the premise that he had never seen the creature before: "Well, blow me down! A baby puppy!"

In the context of the comic strip, Eugene the Jeep was a gift to Popeye's girlfriend Olive Oyl from her Uncle Ben who found Eugene in Africa. The Jeep is a YELLOW creature about the size of a dog who walks on his hind legs. He has a bear-like head and ears but a large nose, long tail, and protruding stomach. The Jeep's diet consists only of orchids. As his language is limited to the word "jeep," Eugene primarily communicates through body language. Eugene always tells the truth and, possessing high intelligence, is able to help humans such as Popeye and Olive Oyl solve complex problems. He makes use of a limited form of teleportation: he can disappear from one place and reappear in another, and can walk through and on walls and ceilings. These teleportation powers are said to stem from the Jeep's ability to cross into the fourth dimension.>>

[mexhunter]

Hi Art:
Often I lose myself, like now.
What relationship has "Jeep" with Melotte 15?
It's just curiosity.
Greetings
César

[neufer]

Hi Art:
Often I lose myself, like now.
What relationship has "Jeep" with Melotte 15?
It's just curiosity.
Greetings

Hi César,

Look carefully right in the middle of Melotte 15 and you should be able to see
the Jeep (his head has all but disappeared with the exception of his nose):
Melotte 15 in the Heart

[mexhunter]

Click to view full size image

Explanation: Cosmic clouds seem to form fantastic shapes in the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. Of course, the clouds are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster, Jeep's Nose Nebula. About 1.5 million years young, the cluster stars are near the center in this colorful skyscape, along with dark dust clouds silhouetted against glowing atomic gas. A composite of narrow and broad band telescopic images, the view spans about 40 light-years and includes emission from hydrogen in green, sulfur in red, and oxygen in blue hues. Wider field images reveal that IC 1805's simpler, overall outline suggests its popular name - The Heart Nebula. IC 1805 is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia.

[neufer]

Actually, I had the Jeep down on all four legs with
his crooked tail where you have his left ear, but no mind.

[mexhunter]

This is a crop of the area of Melotte 15, now without Jeep.
I used the Epsilon 180ED telescope, the camera QSI540 and Astrodon filters of 3nm (Ha, OIII and SII).
The total exposure was 6 hours.

Click to view full size image

Greetings
César