dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (09/30/85)
The Orion Nebula is a cloud in space that you can see with just your eye. More -- after this. September 30 Photograph of a Cloud A famous first photograph was taken on this date in the year 1880. It was a photograph of the Orion Nebula, a giant cloud of gas and dust -- a kind of celestial incubator where many new stars are forming. The nebula is located in the constellation Orion the hunter. It's now in the sky after midnight -- but it'll be rising earlier as the months pass. In the constellation Orion, the nebula appears as a fuzzy-looking star -- located in the sword of the hunter. Even if you've never seen the nebula in the sky, you've probably seen it in photographs or posters. In fact, you might be a little disappointed if you saw a photograph of the Orion Nebula before seeing the real thing. Photographs of astronomical objects tend to look more colorful and spectacular than the same objects seen through the eyepiece of a telescope. Light can build up over time on photographic film, which makes the picture brighter. But your eye can't build up an image like this, no matter how long you stare at something. Through a telescope, the Orion Nebula looks faintly greenish. You can see dark winding lanes of dust, and four young stars. These stars -- called the Trapezium -- are what cause the cloud to shine. Once you try looking at things through telescopes, you'll probably find them more beautiful than any photograph. The eye can detect subtleties that are lost on film. If you ever get to look through a telescope, remember -- the view may not look like a photograph -- but with some practice, it can look better! Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin