January 11, 2020

Sharpless 2-228 in Auriga (Dec. 2019)


This splash of glowing hydrogen is a sign of greater things to come.  Barely visible to the eye through large telescopes, this nebula is spawning stars.  Hidden in its dusty glow is a cluster of new stars waiting to be seen!

This image shows (i) the glowing gas of ionized hydrogen (6.5 hours of exposure) and (ii) stars and a little gas shining at the wavelength of ionized oxygen (5 hours of exposure).  But professional astronomers with access to infrared telescopes that peer through the dust and gas have taken images of the cluster of stars glowing within the cloud.  Here is a link to the infrared image of the hidden cluster.  Here is the study that produced the infrared image of the hidden cluster.

My image was taken with the Synta-ONTC 203mm Newtonian telescope at f/4.95 and the SXVF-H9 camera.  What amazing things we can see from our own backyards!

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