My Backyard in the Orion Nebula
Call me an adult with an overactive imagination, a dreamer or a delusional geek but sometimes I just can’t help but wonder … What would my backyard look like if Earth was a little closer to the Orion Nebula?
Ah, now that’s worth pulling out the deck chairs and a pondering over a tequila sunrise.
Hubble’s Sharpest View of the Orion Nebula:
The Orion Nebula is a cavern of tumultuous gas and dust where thousands of stars are forming. The energy released by the young stars transforms their place of birth, whipping their surroundings into fantastic forms.
Exploration Dreaming – Humanity Leaving the Cradle
I would like to respectfully acknowledge Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation who are the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land I currently reside.
The use of traditional Australian Aboriginal painting techniques and symbols have opened a new vista to artistic expression for me when combined with deep space images.
Using traditional symbols, the image depicts the future dreaming of man leaving the cradle of humanity. The concentric circles represent the ‘campsites’ or colonies as man takes to the stars. Undulating patterns mirroring trials and tribulations persist in following the journey. The U shapes of mankind identify a new civilization emerging in the stars.
The background image is a Hubble Space Telescope shot of the Orion Nebula.
Created using the GIMP opensource image editing software
For more information on Aboriginal Painting or to view real Aboriginal artists work please visit:
www.aboriginalartonline.com/index.php
www.aboriginalart.org/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_art
Note: I am not of Aboriginal descent and do not claim to understand the complexities and full symbolism of traditional Aboriginal art. I hope that by learning more about the Aboriginal culture and art I can gain a greater appreciation and understanding.
Read MoreSearching for Something …
I know I’m searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night.
Billy Joel
The Orion Nebula and God's Grove
This image was inspired by Dan Simmon’s book Hyperion. In it there is a planet called God’s Grove. God’s Grove is a forest planet, home of the Templars, whose worship of nature seeks to mold life to preserve and spread it throughout the galaxy. The Templars designed their star ships to look like giant trees.
High resolution images taken of Space are grand and majestic. However, few people have exposure to them. Occasionally I’ll develop a concept like this to utilize these powerful images. I do this for my own gratification but also to hopefully encourage more people to develop an appreciation and desire to learn more about objects in our heavens. The image above uses a Hubble Space Telescope shot of the Orion Nebula.
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south[b] of Orion‘s Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,270±76 light years[2] and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. Older texts frequently referred to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula. Yet older, astrological texts refer to it as Ensis (Latin for “sword”), which was also the name given to the star Eta Orionis, which can be seen close to the nebula from Earth.
The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features. The nebula has revealed much about the process of how stars and planetary systems are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula.
If you get a chance, read some of Simmon’s books. He does an excellent job of blending classical literature with Science Fiction and also, take the time to look upward and appreciate the majesty of space.
Read MoreFull Moon and All Its Weirdness
Last Month, I took this photo. I really liked the simplicity of it. I have been watching the skies and noticed that it’s almost time for another full moon. Given my daughter obsession with Mothman, I wonder if he (Mothman) would be attracted to a full moon much like a moth to a flame?
As a skeptic, I have always scoffed at the idea of a full moon influencing peoples moods and behaviors, However, there does appear to be data in my office to suggest there is a connection. Anyone have any scientific evidence they wish to point out?
Read MoreA New Breed of Explorer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 3603 is visible in the telescope as a small rather insignificant nebulosity with a yellowish tinge due to the effects of interstellar absorption. In the mid-1960s optical studies coincided with radio astronomical observations which showed it to be an extremely strong thermal radio source. Later observations in other galaxies introduced the concept of ‘starburst’ regions, in some cases whole galaxies, of extremely rapid star formation and NGC 3603 is now considered to be such a region. In 1987 a supernova (known as SN 1987A) occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This was the first supernova to be close enough for detailed observation with satellite based telescopes. One result was the discovery that prior to the main explosion it had thrown off a relatively small amount of material in a very distinctive pattern, a bit like an hourglass perpendicular to a detached glowing ring. One star in NGC 3603 (Sher 25, the number comes from the 1960s optical observations) was found to have thrown off matter in a pattern similar to that found for the supernova 1987A. This coincidence has aroused intense interest.
NGC 3603 image – Hubble Space Telescope, NASA
Read More
Recent Comments