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Southern Cross to Eta Carinae Image Credit & Copyright: Carlos Fairbairn Explanation: Tracking along the southernMilky Way this beautiful celestial mosaic was recorded under dark Brazilianskies. Spanning some 20 degrees it actually starts with the dark expanse of theCoalsack nebula at the lower left, tucked under an arm of the Southern Cross.That compact constellation is topped by bright yellowish Gamma Crucis, a coolgiant star a mere 88 light-years distant. A line from Gamma Crucis through theblue star at the bottom of the cross, Alpha Crucis, points toward the SouthCelestial Pole. Follow the Milky Way to the right and your gaze will sweepacross IC 2948, popularly known as the Running Chicken nebula, before itreaches Eta Carinae and the Carina Nebula near the right edge of the frame.About 200 light-years across, the Carina Nebula is a star forming region muchlarger than the more northerly stellar nursery the Orion Nebula. The CarinaNebula lies around 7,500 light-years from Earth along the plane of the MilkyWay. 从南十字星到海山二星 这幅拍摄于巴西美丽的照片呈现出黑暗天空下的南天银河系。该照片跨越了约20度的天区，实际上它开始于影像左下方、位于南十字星臂膀下的煤袋星云黑暗区域。这个致密星座的顶部是淡黄色亮星十字架一（即南十字座γ星，全天第24亮星），它是一颗距离地球只有88光年的低温巨星。一条从十字架一穿过十字架底部的蓝色恒星十字架二（南十字座α星）的直线指向南天极方向。顺着银河系向右看，视线将扫过被称为半人马λ星云的IC 2948，最后到达照片右侧边缘附近的海山二星和船底座星云。船底座星云的大小约为200光年，是一个比更靠北的恒星孕育场——猎户星云还要大的恒星形成区。船底座星云距我们地球约7500光年，位于银河盘面上。 参考文献： https://apod./apod/image/1904/FairbairnCROSSTOCARINA1024.jpg 近期文章： Astronomy Picture of the Day——横跨礁湖星云的泛星计划 |
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