Welcome to Learn the Sky, your online resource for learning about the stars and constellations.
Welcome! My name is Janine and in this video we are going to review over the celestial objects
that you can find in the constellation of Orion. If you're new to this channel,
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freebies for you to download as well as online lessons and classes for you to experience so be
sure to check them out. For this video, we're going to talk about the celestial objects that
are within the boundaries of Orion. Remember constellations are not just the star patterns,
but really the rectangular boundaries of the sky and everything that is within
these boundaries. For Orion some of these objects can be seen with the unaided eye like
the Great Orion Nebula, but others of them you need either magnification or some sort of long
exposure astrophotography methods in order to see some of these features. So if we were to point out
some of these objects, here's what we have. We'll start with the Great Orion Nebula because
this is one that you can see with the unaided eye. It's also dubbed Messier 43 and Messier 42.
Next, there's some nebulosity surrounding the belt stars which you can see here.
Around this, kind of, head of Orion is Meissa and this is estimated to be a supernova remnant that's
left over from long ago. Then in this region, right here, this green area that you're looking at
that is known as Barnard's Loop. Right next to Barnard's Loop we have the Flame Nebula and
the Horsehead Nebula. So let's dive in and learn a little bit more about all these objects. The first
area that we're going to look at is known as the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, or sometimes it's
just called the Orion Complex. Here you can see a star map of this particular area.
And this is what a picture of this photograph looks like, but just keep in mind you are not going
to see this when you look at Orion with a naked eye. This photo is taken over a long period of time
in which those gases are able to shine through on the photograph. What we're going to do is just
explore within these areas, this Orion Complex. It's really comprised of these large group of dark
clouds. There's some bright emission and reflection nebulae as well as some dark nebulae.
There's a lot of star formation happening here and the complex itself is estimated to be 1,500
to 1,600 light years away. If we were to, again, look at this photo, you can see this is Barnard's Loop
right here, you can see all this nebulosity right here, these are all portions of the Orion Molecular
Cloud Complex. It's one of the most active regions of stellar formation which means young
stars are being born in this particular region of the sky. We can also see some protoplanetary disks,
very young stars. Scientists look at this particular region not only with visible light,
but looking at infrared and UV light as well because that helps us understand the structure
of the cloud complex. So one part of this is called Barnard's Loop and this is an emission nebula.
Its distance has a range. It's estimated to be 518 to 1.434 light years away. This can really
only be seen through long exposure photographs and maybe perhaps under very, very dark skies you might
be able to see a portion of it. But it won't quite look as bright as this photograph. It's also
estimated to be from a supernova explosion that occurred around two million years ago and it's
named after the pioneering astrophotographer E.E Barnard. Moving forward, there's also HH 111 which
stands for Herbig-Haro 111. This is also an emission nebula that's estimated to be
1,300 light years away. Herbig-Haro is one that has, if you can see this line coming
out of here, it's an object that has this jet of gas that's coming through it
in which a young star is forming. So Herbig-Haro objects: you have a young star forming, you have an
accretion disk around it, and then you have these jets coming out of the poles. You can see these
in this picture right here. This is really an indication of newborn stars and these jets are
coming out of the star as it's beginning to start to fuse the elements that are inside of it.
The next object we'll take a look at is known as Messier 42 and the common name for this is
the Orion Nebula. I've also seen it called the Great Orion Nebula. I love this one because
it's something that you can see with the unaided eye if you just know where to look.
So this nebula is located right underneath Orion's Belt and it's really one of the
brightest nebulae that you can see in the night sky. It's estimated to be 24 light years across
and has a mass that's about 2,000 times that of our own sun. Now sometimes I feel a little bit
disappointed to tell my students that when you look at this object through the telescope, it's
not going to have all these beautiful colors in it. The first time I ever saw this through a telescope
it was gray and I was a little disappointed because I'm like, "Why doesn't it look
like all these amazing pictures I've seen?" Well that's because these photographs are enhanced
and that allows us to see the different structures within the different objects that we're looking at.
So, you know, it's not necessarily what you will see with the unaided eye or even with
the telescope, but it does help us see those structures inside of it. Then, Messier 42,
located right here, is a diffuse nebula. It's a place of star birth, so many young stars are really
embedded in here within the clouds and it's also considered to be a stellar nursery.
Right next to it is Messier 43 also called the De Mairan's Nebula. This is an emission nebula
estimated to be 1,600 light years away. So these two are situated right next to each other.
Here you can see the emission part, but it also has this lane of dust.
It's dark so it's not allowing gas to pass through it and this is really a portion
of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that we discussed before. If we were to look at both
Messier 42 and 43 together, here you can see Messier 42 and then this right here is Messier 43.
The next object we're going to take a look at that's located within Orion is called IC 434.
This is the famous Horsehead Nebula. This is an absorption nebula which means that gas or
light cannot pass through the gas that is situated in this area. It's estimated to be 1,375 light years
away and this again is just a smaller portion of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It
lies really close to one of the belt stars known as Alnatak. I did a whole video about the bright
stars of Orion, so be sure to check that one out. Now when you look at this object,
you will need a magnification to see it. You won't see these beautiful colors, again, because these
colors are falsely colored in order in order for us to see the different structures that are within
there. But, if you were to look at it, this is what it would look like and this is what I've seen
through a telescope. So this is an area of active star formation and I'm excited to share this next
picture with you because I just love it. If we were to zoom in on this particular region, you
can see that shape of the horse head right there. This image is taken with infrared radiation so
you are allowed to see the different structures through here that you wouldn't necessarily see
with this view. This view is with visible light where this is with infrared radiation.
The next object we're going to take a look at is known as the Flame Nebula and as I was looking
at this it totally reminded me of the fire nation symbol from the Avatar Universe, the Last Airbender
which my daughters and I are obsessed with. We watch it all the time. But, it's also designated as
NGC 2024 and this is an emission nebula estimated to be 1,350 light years away. Just to give you
an idea of where this is situated, here I have a picture of where the Great Orion Nebula is.
We have the Horsehead Nebula right here and this is where the Flame Nebula is. So you would
need magnification if you want to see all the details that you're looking at in this photograph.
And of course this is a long exposure photograph that allows those gases to shine through.
Our next object is Messier 78. This is also known as NGC 2068. This is
both a diffuse and reflection nebula estimated to be 1,350 light years away. This is really a
part of the larger Orion B Molecular Cloud Complex. If we back up and kind of zoom out here
again, this whole area is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. So, are you able to
recognize the different features in here? Here we can see the Great Orion Nebula,
here you can see the Horsehead Nebula, and then, right here, this is the Flame Nebula. So there
really is a lot to examine within Orion and it's fascinating to learn about. The final celestial
object that we're going to take a look at in Orion is known as NGC 2174. It's also nicknamed
the Monkey Head Nebula. This is an emission nebula that's estimated to be 6, 400 light years away.
Now for me, I'm not quite understanding where the shape of the monkey head is, but
maybe others of you out there can see it. It's located in this region of Orion and if we were to
zoom in here and take a look at this particular nebula with infrared light, you can see- or infrared
radiation I should say, not light. But, you can see there's a lot of stars in here that are being born.
Here's another kind of zoomed up image of the Monkey Head Nebula and it's located
right along the boundary of Orion and Gemini. So I found this awesome picture that shows you right
where the Monkey Head Nebula is, this emission nebula. Then, close by is the Jellyfish Nebula
in Gemini. So I hope you enjoyed learning about all the fascinating celestial objects in Orion.
It's one of those cool constellations in which you can see some objects with the unaided eye, but
others of them you would need magnification to see. Remember it takes time, patience, and practice
to find these objects. I wish you luck and I wish you clear skies. Good luck and keep looking up!