Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)

Image of the day 09/26/2018

    Barnard 175 - Cosmic Curiosities, Jason Guenzel
    Barnard 175 - Cosmic Curiosities
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    Barnard 175 - Cosmic Curiosities

    Image of the day 09/26/2018

      Barnard 175 - Cosmic Curiosities, Jason Guenzel
      Barnard 175 - Cosmic Curiosities
      Powered byPixInsight

      Barnard 175 - Cosmic Curiosities

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      Description

      In the constellation of Cepheus, a long pillar of dark dust (the Bok Globule, Barnard 175) terminates in a brilliant sapphire reflection nebula (vdB 152, Cederblad 201).

      This image contains other curiosities, too. The long red hydrogen alpha filaments of a supernova remnant (SNR 110.3+11.3) appear to intertwine through the background. Embedded in the dusty pillar and showing a vibrant red, a forming star with polar jets of ionized gas interacts with the interstellar medium (Herbig Haro object, HH450). The inner pocket of the reflection nebula has some interesting arcs of material lit from within and is somewhat reminiscent of the Iris Nebula. I didn't have the FOV for it, but just off the lower right of the frame is an ancient planetary nebula that emits in Ha and OIII. We are peering through a fairly busy part of the Milky Way, but amazingly there are at least a couple background galaxies visible.

      I found this image to be a particular challenge on the processing side. The dark nebula is exceedingly faint in luminance and the supernova remnant was even dimmer in hydrogen alpha emission.

      If you ask me, this complex nebula looks most like a baby penguin looking skyward.

      Enjoy!

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