Seagull to Sirius
Image Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)
Explanation: This broad, beautiful mosaic spans almost 20 degrees across planet Earth's sky. The
nebula-rich region lies near the edge of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble, filled with looping, expanding shells of gas and dust embedded in molecular clouds near the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. Recognizable at the left is the expansive
Seagull Nebula, composed of emission nebula NGC 2327, seen as the seagull's head, with the more
diffuse IC 2177 as the wings and body. Some 3,800 light-years away, the wings of the Seagull Nebula spread about 240 light-years, still within our
local spiral arm. The bluish light of
Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major and brightest star in the night, easily dominates the scene at right but shines from a distance of only 8.6 light-years. Study the
big picture and you should also be rewarded with star cluster
Messier 41, also known as NGC 2287, not to mention the mighty
Thor's Helmet.
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