Our astronomy consultant Dan Joyce, astronomer at Triton College's Cernan Space Center has passed on three more spectacular photos taken out in the northwest corner of Illinois just south of Elizabeth in Jo Daviess County.
This photo was shot with an 8" telescope is IC1871, also known as the "Heart and Soul Nebula" in Cassiopeia, probably just over 2,000 light-years away.
This photo, taken with a 10" scope depicts IC 405 also known as the "Flaming Star Nebula" in Auriga and is about 1,600 light-years out. The bright star varies its radiant output but averages 950 times the solar luminosity. The reddish color is hydrogen fluorescing in the star's ultraviolet radiation and the bluish-purple is a reflection of the star's own color mixed with the glowing hydrogen.
The last photo is galaxy IC 342 (it has no fancy name) and is about 11,000,000 light-years away in the obsure northern constellation of Camelopardalis. This shot was taken with an 8" telescope.
