Merak region
A stargazer's dream - cold, dry air and the week of the New Moon. I will be out every night taking advantage of these conditions. This is an image of the area to the southwest of Merak the bottom star of the front of the Big Dipper's bowl. North is to the upper left. Merak is listed as the 2nd brightest star in Ursa Major but it is currently the 5th brightest so it has dimmed a bit since it was named. Below blue-white Merak you can see the galaxy M108 which we see almost side-on which explains its skinny appearance. And below and to the right of M108 is M97, the ghostly bluish Owl Nebula, so named because of its resemblance to an owl's head. I will post a blow-up of this area next. Prince George, BC. Feb 22, 2014. Image details: stack of 32 frames x 20 seconds @ ISO3200.
Merak region
A stargazer's dream - cold, dry air and the week of the New Moon. I will be out every night taking advantage of these conditions. This is an image of the area to the southwest of Merak the bottom star of the front of the Big Dipper's bowl. North is to the upper left. Merak is listed as the 2nd brightest star in Ursa Major but it is currently the 5th brightest so it has dimmed a bit since it was named. Below blue-white Merak you can see the galaxy M108 which we see almost side-on which explains its skinny appearance. And below and to the right of M108 is M97, the ghostly bluish Owl Nebula, so named because of its resemblance to an owl's head. I will post a blow-up of this area next. Prince George, BC. Feb 22, 2014. Image details: stack of 32 frames x 20 seconds @ ISO3200.