Pan-STARRS & Nebulae Briana Gonzalez

Nebulae Nebula is the beginning and the end for a star. It is a cloud of dust in outer space which can be seen in the night sky. When viewed it can be seen an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette if it is against other luminous matter. Nebulae consists of mostly hydrogen and then helium and other elements that make up a small portion of the atoms, such as; oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, etc. The size of the nebula can vary and ranges from millions of miles across to hundreds of light years across.

Pan-STARRS & Nebulae In this image 3 nebulas were captured; the Lagoon Nebula, the Trifid nebula and the NGC 6559 The three nebulae are located in the constellation of Sagittarius. The three nebulae all consist of nearly the same gasses; therefore are nearly the same color. (bluish, greenish) If oxygen is present then it emits a green wavelength which will change the color of the nebulae to a teal, green like or blue like color.

The Lagoon Nebula Classified as an emission nebula H II Region Discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 Fun fact: Is one of the only two star forming nebula that is visible to the eye from mid-northern latitudes. Is the largest and brightest nebula in the constellation of Sagittarius

The Trifid Nebula H II Region Discovered by Charles Messier on June 5th, 1764 Trifid Nebula means “divided into three lobes” The object is a combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula, a reflection nebula and a dark nebula

NGC 6559 In the constellation of Sagittarius A small part of a rich region of star formation and glowing clouds Shows both emission and reflection regions

CONCLUSION We touched base on Nebulae in general Pan-STARRS which includes 3 different nebulae (the Lagoon Nebula, the Trifid Nebula and the NGC 6559 Nebula) The natural colors of nebulae range from the elements that are present. For example the colors displayed in Pan-STARRS & Nebulae were bluish and greenish due to the abundance in oxygen. The natural colors of hydrogen emission nebulae usually range from blue and magenta.