Subj : Stargazing News - January 26th, 2025
To   : All
From : CJ
Date : Sat Jan 25 2025 08:15:12

Sunday, January 26, 2025 

The Lost Jewel of Orion's Sword (all night)

To the unaided eyes, a patch of brightness below the Orion Nebula defines the
southern tip of Orion's sword. The area is dominated by the bright, magnitude
2.75 star named Nair al Saif, and sometimes called Hatysa, Iota Orionis, and
The Lost Jewel of Orion. Just to the lower right (or 8 arc-minutes to the
southwest) of Nair al Saif is a pair of magnitude 4 stars named HIP26199 and
HIP26197. They are almost 3,000 light-years from the sun and shine with an
intense blue light indicative of their extreme surface temperatures.
Astronomers estimate that those two stars are approximately 40,000 times as
luminous as our sun. The jewel is also readily seen in binoculars. In a
backyard telescope, the entire area is surrounded by faint nebulosity that
will be enhanced by a nebula filter.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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 * Origin: CJ's Place, Orange City FL > cjsplace.thruhere.net (954:100/61)

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