M78, Barnard's Loop and #100

April 20, 2018


Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Author: Greg Parker 

Featured above are M78, the bluish area at center, and Barnard's Loop, the red region at left, in the constellation of Orion. They're found just above the left side of Orion's Belt but can't be seen with the unaided eye. M78 is a diffuse reflection nebula, first discovered in 1780. It's the brightest feature in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex; a patch of space composed chiefly of molecular hydrogen and helium (a star-forming region), some 1600 light-years distant.

Barnard's Loop (Sh2-276) is an emission nebula lying at least 500 light-years away and extending at a minimum 100 light-years across. It evidently formed as a result of a supernova explosion, perhaps 2 million years ago. It's thought that stars within the Orion Nebula played a major role in ionizing the loop. Image taken on January 24, 2018.

Photo Details: Single-frame image using Hyperstar III; C11/M25C OSC CCD image; total exposure time of around 8-hours.

Note that this is Greg's 100th Earth Science Picture of the Day. A big thank you to Greg for M78 and Barnard's Loop and his other 99 photos!