SAEDNEWS: In this image, nebulae usually invisible to the naked eye are revealed using a camera tuned to capture hydrogen-alpha red light.
According to the Science Service of Saed News, NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day captures the constellation Orion rising behind a mountain range in southern Poland. This winter display was recorded on the longest night of the Northern Hemisphere (the winter solstice).
In the image, nebulae that are normally invisible to the naked eye are revealed using a camera tuned to capture hydrogen-alpha red light. These nebulae lie along the edges of Orion’s molecular cloud. Alongside this molecular cloud, the stars of Orion’s famous belt stand out prominently. The bright giants Betelgeuse (Orion’s shoulder or Alpha Orionis) and Rigel (Orion’s foot or Beta Orionis) are clearly visible.
Above Orion, the orange-red star Aldebaran (the Bull’s Eye) appears at the center of the V-shaped Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus. The Hyades, the closest open star cluster to the Sun, lie 153 light-years from Earth. From our perspective, although Aldebaran appears within this cluster, it is not physically associated with the Hyades and is much closer—just 65 light-years away.
At the top of the image, the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the “Seven Sisters,” shines with its bright blue stars. Located 440 light-years away, the cluster appears brighter than the Hyades because of its young, luminous stars. Also visible in this view is the planet Jupiter, near opposition, appearing as the brightest object in the sky and rising above the snowy peaks on the horizon. Can you spot it in the photo?
