|
Credit & Copyright: Aygen Erkaslan
Explanation:
Alnitak,
Alnilam,
and
Mintaka
are the bright bluish stars
from east to west (upper right to lower left) along the diagonal in this
cosmic vista.
Otherwise known as the
Belt of Orion,
these three blue supergiant stars are hotter and much more
massive than the Sun.
They lie from
700 to 2,000 light-years away,
born of Orion's well-studied interstellar clouds.
In fact, clouds of gas and dust adrift in this region have
some surprisingly familiar shapes, including the dark
Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula
near Alnitak at the upper right.
The famous Orion Nebula
itself is off the right edge of this colorful starfield.
The telescopic frame spans almost 4 degrees
on the sky.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day