APOD: NGC 2170: Celestial Still Life (2013 Jan 14)

[APOD Robot]

NGC 2170: Celestial Still Life

Explanation: In this celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines left of image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items still life painters often choose for their subjects, these clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars are also commonly found in this setting - a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation Monoceros. The giant molecular cloud, Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 40 light-years across.

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[neufer]

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[Beyond]

Hey neufer, what's the name of the *star* in your top picture

[Markus Schwarz]

The link to the reflection nebulae is missing a ".html". Otherwise, really nice picture!

[owlice]

Thanks, Markus; the editor has been notified.

[Boomer12k]

"Starlight, Star Bright...um....WHICH STAR DO I WISH ON TONIGHT???????"

Man, that is a packed view.

The Blue Reflection nebulas are interesting for their striations. Kind of like The Pleiades.

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[neufer]

Hey neufer, what's the name of the *star* in your top picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlize_Theron
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colber ... ize-theron

Art (the fairest of them all?) Neuendorffer

[LocalColor]

A "still life" - to me it looks like a vase of flowers, pink tulips and white lilies. Beautiful!

[Beyond]

Hey neufer, what's the name of the *star* in your top picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlize_Theron
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colber ... ize-theron

Art (the fairest of them all?) Neuendorffer

I don't know about the -fairest of them all-, but surely the most quoteingest of them all.
So Chalize Theron is the star in the black-feathered nebula. Neat

[Ann]

This is definitely one of the most three-dimensional-looking regions of the Milky Way that I know of. And what a symphony of nebulae and colors!

Ann

[Beyond]

This is definitely one of the most three-dimensional-looking regions of the Milky Way that I know of. And what a symphony of nebulae and colors!

Ann

Ann... a devotee of space music. Neat and far out! very far out Can you play a stratosphererius

[ta152h0]

A remarkable year so far for fantastic photography

[Anthony Barreiro]

This is a lovely image! Lots of pink and blue and dusty brown, with stories to tell. Monoceros, east of Orion, has some interesting open clusters and nebulae, well worth exploring with binoculars or a small telescope. But Orion with his blazingly bright stars and brightly glowing nebulae is right next door. Monoceros doesn't have any very bright stars, so many observers overlook it.

I have to wonder, if this is a celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, who is the composer? Who's holding the brush? Calling something art implies artistic intention.

[Ann]

This is definitely one of the most three-dimensional-looking regions of the Milky Way that I know of. And what a symphony of nebulae and colors!

Ann

Ann... a devotee of space music. Neat and far out! very far out Can you play a stratosphererius

A stratosphererius...?

Ann

[Beyond]

ha-ha, you got it, Ann. See if you can get one with a built-in nebulizer, to add pazazz to the colorful notes.

[Gerry]

This "still life" image has a lot of motion in it for me. When I look at it, all the points of light are slowly moving right, left and in a circular way. I also see this when I look at other static images, especially of stars and galaxies, but I know they couldn't be moving. Does anyone else see this?

[Raven]

I also see this when I look at other static images, especially of stars and galaxies, but I know they couldn't be moving. Does anyone else see this?

That's a characteristic of certain types of "optical illusions" -- and lots of people see them, which is why the term exists.

Here, for instance -- http://tinyurl.com/zoomjpg -- is a static image which gives the impression of "zooming".

One of Vincent van Gogh's most famous paintings, "Starry Night", depicts the night sky's stars as flowing in a river-like current.

(And, well, I discuss here its depiction of Great Cthulhu arising to drown the world, but never mind that now....)