The Big Dipper
is an easy to recognize, well-known asterism in
northern skies, though many see the Plough
or Wagon.
Famous bright nebulae of the north can also be found along
its familiar lines, highlighted in this carefully
composed scene with telescopic insets framed in the wider-field
skyview.
All from
Messier’s
catalog,
M101 and
M51 are cosmic pinwheel and
whirlpool on the left, spiral galaxies far beyond the Milky Way.
To the right, M108,
a distant edge-on spiral galaxy is seen
close to our galaxy’s own
owl-faced planetary nebula M97.
Taken
on January 16, the wider-field view seems to include
an extra star along the Dipper’s handle, though.
That’s Comet Catalina
(C/2013
US10) now sweeping through
northern nights.
from Astronomy Picture of the Day RSS Feed http://ift.tt/1TfGb3O
via IFTTT
Telescopically 