The Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec launches the monthly publication of outstanding pictures [NOT TRANSLATED]

2016-01-27 00:00:00

From this January, and monthly, the Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec (OAdM) of IEEC, will publish a remarkable image from their observations. We start this series with an image of the Horsehead nebula.

Credits: TJO, IEEC

Horsehead nebula

The Joan Oró telescope at Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec has been able to capture this picture of the Horsehead Nebula after 9 hours of exposure with a broadband filters combination.

Located in the constellation of Orion, this iconic nebula has a curious shape sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from the nearby young stars. The silhouette of the horse head, a dark nebula in the foreground contrasts with the emission nebula in the background (IC 434). All this is localized in the large complex cloud of Orion, about 1,500 light years away.

The Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec (OAdM)

The Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec is a scientific infrastructure managed by the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and is located 1,570 meters high in the Montsec, 50 km north of the city of Lleida, near Ager, in the Catalan Prepyrenees. This area is recognized as one of the most suitable of the European continent for astronomical observation, thanks to the combination of weather conditions and the low effect of light pollution. It is undoubtedly an exceptional sky.

The astronomical equipment includes, among others, the Joan Oró telescope, 80 cm in diameter, which belongs to the Generalitat de Catalunya, managed by the IEEC, and a all-sky camera designed to detect fireballs that could be associated with dangerous objects crossing Earth orbit. Both instruments are controlled remotely from the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC). [NOT TRANSLATED]