APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Boomer12k
:---[===] *
Posts: 2691
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:07 am

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Boomer12k » Fri Jan 11, 2013 11:27 pm

alter-ego: Thanks for the photo comparisons and the wider field one.

And an Optimist could be an experienced Pessimist. It depends on the things you are learning.

:---[===] *

User avatar
alter-ego
Serendipitous Sleuthhound
Posts: 1123
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:51 am
Location: Redmond, WA

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by alter-ego » Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:03 am

Boomer12k wrote:alter-ego: Thanks for the photo comparisons and the wider field one.
You are very welcome.
And an Optimist could be an experienced Pessimist. It depends on the things you are learning.
Now that's optimistic! :)
A pessimist is nothing more than an experienced optimist

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13806
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Ann » Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:44 am

Boomer12k wrote:alter-ego: Thanks for the photo comparisons and the wider field one.

And an Optimist could be an experienced Pessimist. It depends on the things you are learning.

:---[===] *
I agree with Boomer12k on both counts.

Anyway, alter-ego: Do keep up your gracious service to everyone here at Starship Asterisk*, by showing us photo comparisons and wider field images so that we can get a better idea of what and where the APOD in question is! (Not every day, of course, goodness me, but now and again!) Thank you so much!

Ann
Color Commentator

User avatar
Beyond
500 Gigaderps
Posts: 6889
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:09 am
Location: BEYONDER LAND

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Beyond » Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:19 pm

And... an experienced optimist could end up being very pessimistic about everything, as a whole.
To find the Truth, you must go Beyond.

Drifting

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Drifting » Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:07 am

So, are the telescope's five laser-generated stars visible in this image of the Orion Bullets??? If so it would be nice to know where in the image they are!

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18573
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:36 am

Drifting wrote:So, are the telescope's five laser-generated stars visible in this image of the Orion Bullets??? If so it would be nice to know where in the image they are!
I doubt it. The laser stimulates a specific narrow wavelength, which is filtered out by the correction optics. That light doesn't make it to the imaging camera. Presumably, the reference stars are distributed in the field- probably one in the center and the others in the quadrants, but more optimal configurations might be possible.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

Chappy
Ensign
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:28 am

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Chappy » Mon Jan 14, 2013 3:50 am

There is one star at the bottom left of this image (2nd star from left edge right at the bottom) that appears to have two jets of material, perfectly perpendicular to the star. These appear to be very similar in looks to x-ray images of jets emanating from galactic central regions. Is this just a chance overlay of foreground (or background) bullet material on an unrelated star? Must be otherwise I'm sure they would have been mentioned something about it..wouldn't they?

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18573
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Jan 14, 2013 4:17 am

Chappy wrote:There is one star at the bottom left of this image (2nd star from left edge right at the bottom) that appears to have two jets of material, perfectly perpendicular to the star. These appear to be very similar in looks to x-ray images of jets emanating from galactic central regions. Is this just a chance overlay of foreground (or background) bullet material on an unrelated star? Must be otherwise I'm sure they would have been mentioned something about it..wouldn't they?
Looks to me like a shock front in the surrounding gas, not a jet.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

User avatar
alter-ego
Serendipitous Sleuthhound
Posts: 1123
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:51 am
Location: Redmond, WA

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by alter-ego » Mon Jan 14, 2013 4:38 am

Chris Peterson wrote:
Drifting wrote:So, are the telescope's five laser-generated stars visible in this image of the Orion Bullets??? If so it would be nice to know where in the image they are!
I doubt it. The laser stimulates a specific narrow wavelength, which is filtered out by the correction optics. That light doesn't make it to the imaging camera. Presumably, the reference stars are distributed in the field- probably one in the center and the others in the quadrants, but more optimal configurations might be possible.
5-pt Locations and Sizes
5-pt Locations and Sizes
Yes, the light is filtered and therefore not visible to GeMS, but other facilities are / can operate sensitive to the sodium line (589nm). There are protocols that define how, when and where the guides stars can be used.

The particular 5-star foot print and sizes are shown in the picture. Note the FoV is the same size as the APOD. I believe they limit the image / guide star separation to something like 25 arcsec.
A pessimist is nothing more than an experienced optimist

User avatar
neufer
Vacationer at Tralfamadore
Posts: 18805
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Re: APOD: The Orion Bullets (2013 Jan 10)

Post by neufer » Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:12 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homunculus_Nebula wrote:
<<The Homunculus Nebula is an emission nebula surrounding the massive star system Eta Carinae. The nebula is embedded within the much larger Eta Carinae Nebula, an ionized hydrogen (H II) region. The Homunculus (from the Latin meaning Little Man) is believed to have been ejected in an enormous outburst from Eta Carinae. Light from this event reached Earth in 1841, creating a brightening event in the night sky which was visible from the Earth's surface at the time. During the event (as seen from Earth) Eta Carinae briefly became the second-brightest star in the sky, after Sirius; but the ejected gas and dust have since obscured much of its light.>>
I wonder if 800 years from now the Homunculus Nebula in the Eta Carinae Nebula will resemble Orion "bullets" in the Orion Nebula.
Art Neuendorffer

Post Reply