APOD: Mars, Pleiades, and Andromeda over... (2020 Oct 13)

[APOD Robot]

Mars, Pleiades, and Andromeda over Stone Lions

Explanation: Three very different -- and very famous -- objects were all captured in a single frame last month. On the upper left is the bright blue Pleiades, perhaps the most famous cluster of stars on the night sky. The Pleiades (M45) is about 450 light years away and easily found a few degrees from Orion. On the upper right is the expansive Andromeda Galaxy, perhaps the most famous galaxy -- external to our own -- on the night sky. Andromeda (M31) is one of few objects visible to the unaided eye where you can see light that is millions of years old. In the middle is bright red Mars, perhaps the most famous planet on the night sky. Today Mars is at opposition, meaning that it is opposite the Sun, with the result that it is visible all night long. In the foreground is an ancient tomb in the Phygrian Valley in Turkey. The tomb, featuring two stone lions, is an impressive remnant of a powerful civilization that lived thousands of years ago. Mars, currently near its brightest, can be easily found toward the east just after sunset.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[Ann]

---

That's a nice new sky triangle!

Maybe we should call it "the September 2020 Triangle" to distinguish it from the Summer and Winter Triangles?

The Summer Triangle. Photo: Sorry, I don't know.

The Winter Triangle. Photo: Akira Fuji.

---

[rj rl]

the Phygrian Valley

typo, Phygrian - Phrygian

[Chalei]

Such a rarely spectacular image. I have never seen anything like this before. Thank you so much for sharing this incredible picture.
This photo recalls me an image that a genie is casting a spell which is really cool.
Credit by pgslotvip

[orin stepanek]

I love seeing Mars; Andromeda; and The Pleiades in the night sky; but for some reason; the tomb stole the show!

[Case]

Click to view full size image

There is one more planet in the image: Uranus. The image also captures four more interesting but originally unlabeled deep sky objects.

The planet Uranus is listed in Stellarium as magnitude 5.69 at the time of the photo.
Open cluster NGC 1342 is also known as the Little Scorpion cluster, probably because some of the stars lining up as a curved tail.
Open cluster NGC 1039 is also known as M34 or the Spiral Cluster.
Open cluster NGC 752 is also known as Caldwell 28. The Caldwell catalogue was compiled as a complement to the Messier catalogue for observations by amateur astronomers.
The Triangulum Galaxy is also known as M33, and one of the big three galaxies in our Local Group. It is about 8 times dimmer (2.28 magnitudes) than the Andromeda Galaxy.

[RET]

Inside the large triangle, we can find the constellation Triangulum. Nice arrangement.

[johnnydeep]

Click to view full size image

There is one more planet in the image: Uranus. The image also captures four more interesting but originally unlabeled deep sky objects.

The planet Uranus is listed in Stellarium as magnitude 5.69 at the time of the photo.
Open cluster NGC 1342 is also known as the Little Scorpion cluster, probably because some of the stars lining up as a curved tail.
Open cluster NGC 1039 is also known as M34 or the Spiral Cluster.
Open cluster NGC 752 is also known as Caldwell 28. The Caldwell catalogue was compiled as a complement to the Messier catalogue for observations by amateur astronomers.
The Triangulum Galaxy is also known as M33, and one of the big three galaxies in our Local Group. It is about 8 times dimmer (2.28 magnitudes) than the Andromeda Galaxy.

Very nice astro-spotting!

[johnnydeep]

Such a rarely spectacular image. I have never seen anything like this before. Thank you so much for sharing this incredible picture.
This photo recalls me an image that a genie is casting a spell which is really cool.
Credit by pgslotvip

I believe you meant "really" not "rarely"

[johnnydeep]

Mars, Pleiades, and Andromeda over Stone Lions

Explanation: Three very different -- and very famous -- objects were all captured in a single frame last month. On the upper left is the bright blue Pleiades, perhaps the most famous cluster of stars on the night sky. The Pleiades (M45) is about 450 light years away and easily found a few degrees from Orion. On the upper right is the expansive Andromeda Galaxy, perhaps the most famous galaxy -- external to our own -- on the night sky. Andromeda (M31) is one of few objects visible to the unaided eye where you can see light that is millions of years old. In the middle is bright red Mars, perhaps the most famous planet on the night sky. Today Mars is at opposition, meaning that it is opposite the Sun, with the result that it is visible all night long. In the foreground is an ancient tomb in the Phygrian Valley in Turkey. The tomb, featuring two stone lions, is an impressive remnant of a powerful civilization that lived thousands of years ago. Mars, currently near its brightest, can be easily found toward the east just after sunset.

So, why is the famously red Mars not so red in this photo (though the mouse-over tag word desperately tries to make up for it)?

And in a non-sequitur worthy of neufer, is this ancient Phrygian monument the inspiration for the Lion's Gate Films logo?

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Answer: probably not, considering there's only one lion in their logo!

[Chris Peterson]

So, why is the famously red Mars not so red in this photo (though the mouse-over tag word desperately tries to make up for it)?

Because it is massively overexposed, meaning the red, green, and blue channels are all maxed out, making the image color white.

[WWW]

Tomb carvings look more like a bear (left) and a lion (right). Perhaps the left side figure is overly worn, weathered, cracked, etc.
Most likely some parts of the original figures are just lion around at the base.

[johnnydeep]

So, why is the famously red Mars not so red in this photo (though the mouse-over tag word desperately tries to make up for it)?

Because it is massively overexposed, meaning the red, green, and blue channels are all maxed out, making the image color white.

Ah, thanks.

[Strbrook]

Tomb carvings look more like a bear (left) and a lion (right). Perhaps the left side figure is overly worn, weathered, cracked, etc.
Most likely some parts of the original figures are just lion around at the base.

The one on the left does have a bear like back hump