It's Nebula Season! A Harbinger of New Targets!

One of the first big objects to appear from within our own galaxy in Spring is the star Sadr and the surrounding Gamma Cygni Nebula. Fancy names for the catalog number IC1318.

Now, let's talk Milky Way, our home. It's mostly made up of hydrogen gas. Those spirals we see in images of similar galaxies? Just big ol' clouds of hydrogen, mixed with some ash, dust, and a sprinkle of other gases. Same here.

Denser clumps slowly form and their gravitational pull attracts more stuff, until BAM! New stars are born, lighting up the scene. These star nurseries also emit a reddish glow as surrounding hydrogen molecules get excited from the radiation. 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘢̀!, we have a bright nebula!

How many stars have been spawned? It's mind-blowing how many. Like, seriously, a LOT. I scanned this image with a space app and found a whopping 28,000, but who's counting, right?

And my telescope is as big as a baseball bat. Imagine how many Hubble or Webb would see!

Older stars eventually explode, the especially violent ones forming their own supernova nebulae. These nebulae are smaller compared to the vast clouds of intergalactic gas depicted in this image. As you might guess, it's not uncommon to find supernova nebulae nestled within intergalactic nebulae!

The cavernous look of Gamma Cygni arises from dark clouds of non-reactive gases, dust, and ash drifting in front, giving the nebula a more intricate appearance.

This portion of the Milky Way is part of a spiral adjoining our own. Want to see what that whole spiral looks like from Earth? It's pretty dynamic. Here's a view, looking towards Milky Way's nucleus (thanks to Trevor Dobson): 

https://www.flickr.com/.../2205340.../in/explore-2015-10-10/

Sadr, the bright star in the center of my image, is one of the stars making up the Northern Cross constellation. It’s is not actually part of the nebula; it is in the foreground, 750 light-years away from Earth. Meanwhile, the Gamma Cygni nebula is way farther back, at 3000 light years.

Sadr itself is a supergiant star, 12 times more massive than our sun. It's burning through hydrogen like there's no tomorrow, which, honestly, there might not be – it's expected to go supernova in about 12 million years. Then we’ll have a supernova nebula in front of the intergalactic one! In the meantime, the aggressive energy burn makes Sadr one of the brightest in our sky.

Uh-oh, I feel a philosophical thought coming on.

Exploring the astounding activity of the Milky Way is like looking into a cosmic mirror, reflecting back upon me our own fragile existence. Amongst the birth and demise of stars, I'm reminded of our fleeting time here, evoking a moment of self-reflection in the midst of this galactic grandeur.

𝘗𝘩𝘦𝘸, glad I got that out! Apologies. Time for a beer. Or maybe I already had one!

The vastness of space evokes a sense of awe, and listening to tonight’s jazz piece, 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, by the Benedikt Jahnel Trio, heightens the mood.