The Ghoul of IC 2118
Image Credit & Copyright: Casey Good/Steve Timmons
Explanation: Inspired by the halloween season, this telescopic portrait captures a cosmic cloud with a scary visage. The interstellar scene lies within the dusty expanse of reflection nebula IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Hunter. IC 2118 is about 800 light-years from your neighborhood, close to bright bluish star Rigel at Orion’s foot. Often identified as the Witch Head nebula for its appearance in a wider field of view it now rises before the witching hour. With spiky stars for eyes, the ghoulish apparition identified here seems to extend an arm many light-years long toward Orion’s hot supergiant star. The source of illumination for IC 2118, Rigel is just beyond this frame at the upper left.
Tomorrow’s picture: fear and terror
星云IC 2118的食尸鬼
影像提供与版权: Casey Good/Steve Timmons
说明: 受万圣节氛围启发而拍下的这幅望远镜影像，呈现带有令人战栗魔影的星云。这片星际景观位在猎户座，满是尘埃的广袤反射星云IC 2118之内。 IC 2118离你我居住的社区约800光年远，紧邻着猎人脚部的参宿七。目前在入夜前即已升起的这团云气，在较大视野的影像里，因外观而有女巫头星云的称号。影像中，以带星芒恒星为眼的这团鬼魂状云气，其高举的双臂之一，看似伸向猎户座炽热的超巨星参宿七。而作为照亮星云IC 2118主要光源的参宿七，则位在这片视野的上左缘之外。
