PHOTOGRAPH #212 · nebulae
NGC 1977, The Running Man Nebula
Randal Healey · Utahopia Observatory
The Running Man Nebula, also known as NGC 1977, vaguely resembles a colorful space ghost sprinting through the stars in the Orion constellation.
Located 1,600 light-years away from Earth, this cloud of interstellar dust and gas shares its cosmic neighborhood with two smaller nebulas, NGC 1973 and NGC 1975. Together, these three objects form a complex of blue reflection nebulas mixed with red emission nebulas divided by dark lanes of obscuring dust.
To see the Running Man, look carefully at the center of the image, where dark regions laced with faint red emission from hydrogen atoms loosely carve the shape of an "X" inside the blue cloud. That "X" forms the running man's arms and legs. The sprinter's head can be a little harder to discern; the faint, round feature is located in the blue region just above the runner's arms.
Hope you enjoy.
Original description & acquisition details ↗Located 1,600 light-years away from Earth, this cloud of interstellar dust and gas shares its cosmic neighborhood with two smaller nebulas, NGC 1973 and NGC 1975. Together, these three objects form a complex of blue reflection nebulas mixed with red emission nebulas divided by dark lanes of obscuring dust.
To see the Running Man, look carefully at the center of the image, where dark regions laced with faint red emission from hydrogen atoms loosely carve the shape of an "X" inside the blue cloud. That "X" forms the running man's arms and legs. The sprinter's head can be a little harder to discern; the faint, round feature is located in the blue region just above the runner's arms.
Hope you enjoy.
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