What's in the sky tonight?
January 7, 2013
-As dawn begins to brighten on Tuesday morning, spot the waning crescent Moon in the southeast. Below it is Antares, a summer-evening star just beginning its months-long trek backward through the night. Much farther lower left of the Moon, Venus rises. Higher in the south are Saturn and, two fists to Saturn's right, Spica.
The waning crescent Moon appears lower each morning until dawn on Thursday, when it forms a spectacular pair with Venus very low in the southeast.
Astro Picture of the Day:
January 7, 2013
Source:
AE Aurigae is called the flaming star. The surrounding nebula IC 405 is named the Flaming Star Nebula and the region seems to harbor smoke, but there is no fire. Fire, typically defined as the rapid molecular acquisition of oxygen, happens only when sufficient oxygen is present and is not important in such high-energy, low-oxygen environments. The material that appears as smoke is mostly interstellar hydrogen, but does contain smoke-like dark filaments of carbon-rich dust grains. The bright star AE Aurigae, visible near the nebula center, is so hot it is blue, emitting light so energetic it knocks electrons away from atoms in the surrounding gas. When an atom recaptures an electron, light is emitted creating the surrounding emission nebula. In this cosmic portrait, the Flaming Star nebula lies about 1,500 light years distant, spans about 5 light years, and is visible with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga).