PIX4571615: The Constellation of the Southern Cross and the Coal Bag - Crux constellation and Coalsack nebula - The Coal Bag is a dark nebula in the constellation of the Southern Cross, located about 600 light years from Earth. The Coalsack dark nebula is located at approximately 600 light years away from Earth, in the Crux constellation / Bridgeman Images
PIX4571735: Sirius A and Sirius B in the Big Dog - Sirius A and Sirius B in Canis Major - Sirius A and Sirius B in the Big Dog seen by the Hubble space telescope in February 2004. The brightest source in this image is Sirius A, the brightest star in the sky in visible light, here overexposed to his companion, Sirius B (lower left), a white dwarf star orbiting Sirius A in 50 years. Sirius is located 8.6 years of light from Earth. This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Sirius, the brightest star in our nighttime sky, along with its faint, tiny stellar companion, Sirius B. Astronomers overexposed the image of Sirius (at center) so that the dim Sirius B (tiny dot at lower left) could be seen. The cross - shaped diffraction spikes and concentric rings around Sirius, and the small ring around Sirius B, are artifacts produced within the telescope's imaging system. Sirius B is a white dwarf that orbits around Sirius every 50 years. Sirius, only 8.6 light - years from Earth, is the fifth closest star system known. Exposure Dates: October 2003 February 2004 Exposure Time: 11.2 min 15.8 mi / Bridgeman Images
PIX4567932: Open cluster M35 and NGC 2158 in Gemeaux - Open clusters M35 and NGC 2158 in Gemini - Open cluster M35 (NGC 2168) is visible to the naked eye under good conditions. NGC 2158, lower right, is weaker and is only observed at the telescope. M35 is about 2800 years of light from Earth and is about 110 million years old. M35 (NGC 2168), at left here, is a spectacular large open cluster containing about 200 stars located in Gemini. Shining at magnitude 5, it is visible to the unaided eye off the foot of Gemini. It is accompanied by a jewel - like smaller companion, open cluster NGC 2158, seen at the lower right of the photo. The smaller cluster is easily resolved in the Astro - Physic's 130 EDT refractor, but many people mistake it for a comet when they observe M35 if they have not seen it before and are not familiar with it / Bridgeman Images
PIX4568016: Open cluster M41 in the Great Dog - Open cluster M41 in Canis Major - M41 (NGC 2287), is a cluster of a hundred stars located about 2300 years - light from Earth. This open cluster contains about one hundred stars; it is located at about 2300 light year away. This skyview is corresponding to binoculars and small telescopes / Bridgeman Images