Kitt Peak Nightly Observing Program Splendors of the Universe on YOUR Night! Many pictures are links to larger versions. Click here for the Best images of the OTOP Gallery and more information. M42 The Orion Nebula M42, the Orion Nebula is a region of star formation about 1,300 light years away the closest to our Solar System. It is roughly 30 light years across, and contains enough material to make 2,000 stars the size of our sun. M51 Whirlpool Galaxy M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, gets its name from its bright and prominent spiral arms. It lies at a distance of 23 million light years away. It also has a smaller, companion galaxy (NGC 5195). The two galaxies are one of the best examples of interacting galaxies. M65 (in Leo Triplet) M65 is a spiral galaxy about 35 million light years away. With a diameter of only 60,000 light years, It is smaller than the Milky Way. It is one of three galaxies in a small group called the Leo Triplet. M66 (in Leo Triplet) M66 is a spiral galaxy, and one of three galaxies in a trio of galaxies called the Leo Triplet. M66 is a stones throw (180,000 light years) from M65.
M81 Bode's Galaxy M81 is a small spiral galaxy, 12 million lightyears away. It is a disk of 50 billion solar masses, only a stone's throw (150,000 lightyears) from M82. M82 Cigar Galaxy M82, the "Cigar Galaxy" is an edge on spiral galaxy, 12 million light years away, and perhaps 37,000 light years across. There are vast gas clouds in this galaxy, where stars are being born at an incredible rate. M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) M104: A spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, nicknamed the "Sombrero Galaxy" because the lane of dust in the disk looks like the brim of such a hat. It is about 50,000 lightyears across and about 29 million lightyears away. M3 M3 is a globular cluster with a half of a million stars. It orbits the core of our Milky Way Galaxy almost perpendicular to the galactic disk. It is currently 33,900 light years away, and approaching our Solar System at 100 miles per second. M5 M5 is a bright, large globular cluster, 25,000 light years away. It is 13 billion years old, 165 light years in diameter, and may contain as many as half of a million stars.
Meteors Quick streaks of light in the sky called meteors, shooting stars, or falling stars are not stars at all: they are small bits of rock or iron that heat up, glow, and vaporize upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. When the Earth encounters a clump of many of these particles, we see a meteor shower lasting hours or days. Satellites Human technology! There are almost 500 of these in Low Earth Orbit (we can't see the higher ones). We see these little "moving stars" because they reflect sunlight. Iridium Flare From the late 1990's to the early 2000's Motorola launched a total of 95 communication satellites into orbit around Earth. Today, they are most noted not for their intended purpose, but instead for their ability to reflect sunlight. Shiny antennae briefly (for 10 20 seconds) reflect sunlight to make these objects almost as bright as the moon. M37 Salt & Pepper Cluster M37, the "Salt and Pepper Cluster" is one of three bright open star clusters in the constellation Auriga. It is the brightest and richest of the three. It lies about 4,500 lightyears away, contains about 150 stars, has a diameter of about 25 light years, and is 450 million years old. M44 The Beehive M44, the "Beehive Cluster," and also known as "Praesepe," is a large, bright, diffuse open star cluster containing about 400 stars. It lies fairly close, at a distance of under 600 light years.
M46 M46 is an open star cluster containing over 500 stars. It lies at a distance of 5,400 lightyears, and is about 30 light years across. A small, faint, grey disc that seems to be superimposed over the cluster is actually the remnant of a dead star a planetary nebula known as NGC 2438. NGC 2438 only coincidentally lies along the same line of sight as M46. The cluster and planetary nebula are unrelated; the planetary nebula is about 2,500 light years closer to the Earth. M1 (Crab Nebula) M1: The Crab Nebula. The explosion that created this nebula was seen by Chinese astronomers in 1054 A.D. This explosion was bright enough to be seen in the daytime for almost a month. The nebula is 11 lightyears in diameter and is expanding at the rate of 1,500 km per second. M97 (Owl Nebula) M97: The "Owl Nebula". This planetary nebula gets its name from what looks like an owl's head and specifically the "eyes" two visibly darker areas within the cloud of matter expanding away from the central star. NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula) NGC 2392: The "Eskimo Nebula." A round cloud of gas ejected by a dying star. Since this sort of object always appears round, William Hershel named them "planetary nebulae" (he discovered this one in 1787).
NGC 2438 (in field with M46) NGC 2438 is the glowing bubble of gas that was cast off by a single star that has died. At a distance of 2,900 light years away it is a foreground object superimposed upon the sparkling star cluster M46. NGC 3242 (Ghost of Jupiter) NGC 3242: The "Ghost of Jupiter." A shroud of gas puffed off by a dying star, 1,400 lightyears away. The gas is illuminated by the collapsed, hot, blue core (a white dwarf). Did it look blue to you? Jupiter Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, a gas giant 11 Earthdiameters across. Its atmosphere contains the Great Red Spot, a longlived storm 2 3 times the size of the Earth. The 4 large Galilean satellites and at least 63 smaller moons orbit Jupiter. Betelgeuse (α Orionis) Betelgeuse (also called Alpha Orionis, α Orionis, or α Ori) is one of the brightest and largest known stars, though it is not one of the most massive. Located approximately 600 light years from Earth, it is part of the constellation Orion and a vertex of the Winter Triangle asterism. Its large volume suggests that if it were at the center of the Solar System, it would wholly engulf Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, with its surface extending out to between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is classified as a red supergiant and as a semiregular variable star that is, it shows considerable periodicity as its light changes, but this periodicity is sometimes irregular.
Iota (ι) Cancri Iota (ι) Cancri is a binary star in the constellation Cancer, the crab. The brighter star is a pale yellow giant, and the fainter star is smaller and bluish white. This pair is about 300 light years away and the stars are almost 3000 astronomical units apart. Your Telescope Operator and Guide. Thank you for joining me this evening! See you soon!! The web page for the program in which you just participated is at Nightly Observing Program. Most of the above images were taken as part of the Overnight Telescope Observing Program. For more information on this unique experience please visit Overnight Telescope Observing Program. Copyright 2017 Kitt Peak Visitor Center