Why is it called the Witch Head Nebula?
Without Rigel’s light, the cloud would be completely dark. But the cloud reflects light from Rigel, making it visible. The cloud’s outline looks like the profile of a laughing witch. So it’s known as the Witch Head Nebula.
Where is the Witches Head nebula?
RA 5h 2m 0s | Dec -7° 54′ 0″IC 2118 / Coordinates
Who discovered the Witch Head Nebula?
astronomer Max Wolf
Facts. The Witch Head Nebula was discovered photographically by the German astronomer Max Wolf in 1909. The nebula was memorably used in the television series Andromeda as the site of a major space battle that sent civilization into an era of chaos. The nebula is about 50 light years long.
How do you photograph the Witch’s Head nebula?
To fit the entire nebula complex in a single frame, a camera lens with a focal length of 200mm or more is needed. My image of the Witch Head Nebula captures most of this dusty blue lady, using an Explore Scientific ED80 APO refractor.
How do I get to the Witch’s Head nebula?
From WHN, you can thread a path through the permits to the inside of the nebula complex by making a straight line from WHN to Spirograph Nebula, then aiming towards EZ Orionis. That should get you within Barnard’s Loop and close to the Orion Nebula.
How do you capture a Witch Head Nebula?
We advise capturing it with a DSLR camera lens (left) before attempting it with a telescope. Because of the faintness of the nebula, it is extremely hard to properly center in the camera without using computer software. The gases will not be revealed on your images until they are stacked.
Why is Rigel important to astronomers?
The science Counting all its radiation (not just visible light, but infrared, ultraviolet and so on), Rigel emits about 120,000 times more energy than the sun. Astronomers calculate this luminosity based on a distance of 863 light-years, a distance derived from data collected by the Hipparcos space telescope.
What nebula is Rigel in?
Witch Head Nebula
For example, Rigel is believed to be in a region of nebulosity, its radiation illuminating several nearby clouds. Most notable of these is the 5°-long IC 2118 (Witch Head Nebula), located at an angular separation of 2.5° from the star, or a projected distance of 39 light-years (12 parsecs) away.
How do you take a picture of the Barnards loop?
The key to photographing this target is to spend as much time as possible getting the red colors from the Loop, as those are really difficult to capture without filters or a modified camera. The photo below is the result of 7.2 hours of total exposure at 50mm f/4 with our unmodified DSLR camera and our 50mm lens.
Will Rigel become a black hole?
With an estimated age of seven to nine million years, Rigel has exhausted its core hydrogen fuel, expanded, and cooled to become a supergiant. It is expected to end its life as a type II supernova, leaving a neutron star or a black hole as a final remnant, depending on the initial mass of the star.
How old is the UY Scuti?
The age of UY Scuti has not been calculated but it could be as young as few million years or as old as a few billion. In other words, we are uncertain to the age of the star. No ones lived as long as a star so no one knows for certain a stars age, its only a best guess estimation.
Why does Sirius sparkle so much?
Another characteristic of Sirius is that it twinkles. This rapid flashing of colour and brightness is caused by the star’s light being refracted in the layers of Earth’s atmosphere. It is most pronounced when Sirius is low and so its light is travelling through more atmosphere to reach our eyes.