Weird Science

Tulip Nebula

Polish ver­sion is here

The Tulip Nebula, also known as Shar­pless 101, is a spraw­ling emis­sion nebula loca­ted in the con­stel­la­tion Cygnus. Situ­a­ted about 8,000 light-years from Earth in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, it is visi­ble to the naked eye for atten­tive obse­rvers.

A defi­ning fea­ture of this nebula is its bri­ght red regions, which result from hydro­gen emis­sion exci­ted by the intense ultra­vio­let radia­tion of hot, young stars within. These stars, inc­lu­ding mas­sive O- and B-type stars, emit strong radia­tion that ioni­zes the hydro­gen in the sur­ro­un­ding gas. The ioni­zed hydro­gen then recom­bi­nes, pro­du­cing the distinc­tive red glow.

In addi­tion to its lumi­nous red areas, the Tulip Nebula con­ta­ins dark dust lanes. These dusty regions absorb some of the star­li­ght, cre­a­ting con­tra­sting struc­tu­res that give the nebula its cha­rac­te­ri­stic appe­a­rance. Near the Tulip Nebula is the micro­qu­a­sar Cygnus X-1, one of the most renow­ned black hole can­di­da­tes in our galaxy.

If you are an astro­nomy enthu­siast in search of a new object to obse­rve, the Tulip Nebula is defi­ni­tely worth con­si­de­ring. Its beauty and com­ple­xity will undo­ub­te­dly cap­ti­vate any­one who sees it.

Obse­rva­tions

June 13, 2024, aro­und 11:00 PM – Kato­wice (Poland)
urban envi­ron­ment, extre­mely high level of light pol­lu­tion

Altho­ugh the day fea­tu­red mode­rate cloud cover, the sky cle­a­red by eve­ning, allo­wing for seve­ral hours of obse­rva­tio­n—par­ti­cu­larly in the first half of the night. As a result, I was able to cap­ture Photo 1.

Ilustracja: Photo 1 – without labels

Photo 1 – without labels

Ilustracja: Photo 1 – with labels

Photo 1 – with labels

When exa­mi­ning this beau­ti­ful nebula, one can indeed see a resem­blance to a tulip (Tulipa sp.) in pro­file (Figure 1), com­plete with petals and con­ta­i­ning nume­rous young, hot stars within.

Ilustracja
Fig. 1 – A tulip flo­wer
based on: Sch­meil O., Lehr­buch der Bota­nik für höhere Leh­ran­stal­ten und die Hand des Leh­rers, sowie für alle Freunde der Natur, 1906

Along with bri­ght red regions, the Tulip Nebula also con­ta­ins dark dust lanes. This dust absorbs some of the star­li­ght, pro­du­cing con­tra­sting fea­tu­res that give the nebula its distinc­tive appe­a­rance.

The Tulip Nebula is a sub­ject of scien­ti­fic rese­arch due to its uni­que phy­si­cal pro­per­ties and its asso­cia­tion with Cygnus X-1. Inve­sti­ga­tions into this nebula help astro­no­mers bet­ter under­stand ioni­za­tion pro­ces­ses in H II regions, the dyna­mics of inter­stel­lar gas, and the inte­rac­tions between young, mas­sive stars and their sur­ro­un­dings.

The Tulip Nebula is a remar­ka­ble astro­no­mi­cal object that pre­sents a chal­lenge for obse­rvers, yet rewards them with bre­a­th­ta­king views and insi­ghts into the com­plex pro­ces­ses occur­ring in our galaxy. Thanks to modern obse­rva­tio­nal and astro­pho­to­gra­phic tech­ni­ques, we can admire its beauty and study its myste­ries, con­tri­bu­ting to our expan­ding know­ledge of the cosmos.

Photo 1 Para­me­ters:

  • Total expo­sure time: 15 minu­tes (stack of 30 RAW fra­mes at 30s each, using an appro­priate num­ber of dark, bias, and flat fra­mes)
  • Canon EOS 60D
  • ISO: 2000
  • Mak­su­tov-Cas­se­grain tele­scope (100/1400), prime focus expo­sure
  • A fil­ter was used to reduce the effects of arti­fi­cial light pol­lu­tion and atmo­sphe­ric glow
  • Mount: equ­a­to­rial mount with trac­king, ali­gned using the drift method and con­trol­led by a custom-built sys­tem

Fur­ther rea­dings:

Marek Ples

Aa