M 78 (NGC 2068, 2064, 2067, 2071) (Alex Woronow)

M 78 (NGC 2068, 2064, 2067, 2071)

M 78 (NGC 2068, 2064, 2067, 2071)

OTA: Star-Fire 175 (f/8)

Camera: FLI - PL16070AE

Observatory: Deep Sky West

EXPOSURES:

Red: 23 x 600”

Blue: 19 x 600

Green: 25 x 600

Lum.: 16 x 600

Total exposure ~13.8 hours

Image Width: ~1.4 deg

Processed by Alex Woronow (2020) using PixInsight, Topaz, Skylum, starnet++, SWT

The constellation of Orion host an abundance of nebulae including the famous Great Nebula in Orion, the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae, and this intense blue reflection nebula, M 78. M 78 is lit by two young B-type stars, but principally ND 38563. In addition, 62 stars in the informational T-Tauri and Herbig-Harlo stages also occur in this nebula as it gravitationally collapses into localized dense clumps, and is blown into streamers by the solar winds from the young and forming stars.

On the accompanying annotated image, a yellow arrow indicates a feature named “McNeil’s Nebula.” It’s difficult to see on the annotated image, but if you look closely at the full image, you can locate two close-together yellow stars just above where the arrow points. Directly below them is a tiny whitish star with a faint, streak pointing toward an even smaller star at about 8:00. That streak is what currently remains of McNeil’s Nebula.

McNeil’s Nebula is a now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t feature. Historically, there was nothing there, then one night an amateur astronomer, McNeil, saw an illuminate cloud. It was a cloud of gas and dust being illuminate and blown by a very young star. It was not on images taken just 4 mos. earlier. Fifteen years later, the nebula largely disappeared. It is likely the swirling clouds variously reveal and conceal the young star that collapsed from that very same cloud.

M78Of great interest is that fact that Unsung Brewing Co. makes an IPA call “Nebuloid: Messier 78.”

Original
C
D
Final
E

D

Description: Annotated with McNeil's Nebula, etc.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	3539373
PixInsight job	00HU3EWF75BHQEQK7PMFXDUY8R6AZXC7
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	05h46m46s.30
RA (top/left)	05h48m43s.22
RA (top/right)	05h48m36s.60
RA (bottom/right)	05h44m48s.67
RA (bottom/left)	05h44m55s.97

Dec (center)	+00°04′12″.8
Dec (top/left)	-00°37′56″.7
Dec (top/right)	+00°47′34″.2
Dec (bottom/right)	+00°46′23″.7
Dec (bottom/left)	-00°39′07″.6

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