Sunday, November 9, 2014

Pacman Nebula

It's clear where the pacman nebula gets its name from.
(click to see a full resolution image)

This image consists of 23+ hours of imaging time (22x10min Ha, 59x10min SIII, 58x10min OIII).

It's 9.200 light years away from us. Because it is 1,000 light years above the plane of the milky way, it can be observed very well.

Here is a close-up of the nebula:

The stars in the open cluster in the middle of the nebula have been formed only in the last few million years. Their strong winds form trunks which turns them into birth places of more stars:


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