NGC 1499: 加州星云

2023年12月19日

NGC 1499: The California Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Steven Powell

Explanation: Could Queen Calafia‘s mythical island exist in space? Perhaps not, but by chance the outline of this molecular space cloud echoes the outline of the state of California, USA. Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way’s Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. On the featured image, the most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, the California Nebula can be spotted with a wide-field telescope under a dark sky toward the constellation of Perseus, not far from the Pleiades.

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NGC 1499: 加州星云
影像提供与版权: Steven Powell

说明: 太空中难道真的有卡拉菲亚女王的神话岛屿吗？或许没有，不过这团分子云的轮廓，倒真的形似美国的加州。而我们位在银河猎户座旋臂里的太阳，离加州星云大约只有1,000光年远。亦名为NGC 1499的这团经典发射星云，长度约有100光年。在这幅主题影像里，加州星云最醒目的泛红色泽，来自氢原子被高能星光电离后后，氢离子和失去的电子复合时所发出的特征红光。而发出高能星光电离大部分云气的恒星，极可能是位于星云右侧的明亮炽热色泽泛蓝的卷舌三（英仙座ξ星）。经常是天文摄影者拍照目标的加州星云，在幽暗的天空下，用大视野望远镜即可在英仙座方向离昴宿星团不远处找到它。

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