Simple Winter Days

Happy Winter Day, 

I sit watching the snowfall as I write this. We have been enjoying slow uneventful days, contemplating what the next year will look like. Walking through the snowy forest is incredibly dreamy, despite the single digit temperatures. The birder in me is delighted by the many species I see daily. I hope that next winter we will have some trails available to share! 

​Not much going on at the observatory currently. Between work and weather, the telescope hasn’t been used a whole lot. Here is an image that Phillip processed with the monochrome camera a few weeks ago.  

He captured 10 hours of data from the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237). This process involved taking three sets of black-and-white images through different filters to capture the light emitted by hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur gases—elements primarily released during a star's supernova explosion. To differentiate between hydrogen and sulfur, which both emit red wavelengths, we assign hydrogen a green hue while keeping oxygen as blue. This results in a red/green/blue color palette, commonly known as the Hubble Palette, which is also used by the Hubble Space Telescope

This was captured over 15 hours with the color camera. 

The Rosette Nebula is located about 5,200 light years away and considered a vast emission nebula. It is within the constellation Monoceros, The Unicorn. This is an area jam packed with young stars.  

Phillip had the pleasure of presenting at a local school this past week. He shared with the students about his time as an engineer. He also shared with them what it is we do with our observatory. We love talking about space and the future of it in Maine! 

I don’t have anything on the Calendar for the Observatory or farm. You can catch me at the libraries hosting the astronomy club. At 4:00 p.m. on February 3rd I will be at the Waterboro Library and same time February 21st at the Limerick Library. I’ll be showing a few of Phillip’s photos, sharing a lesson on an astronomy topic, and discussing current events in space exploration. ALL ages are welcome. I’ll aim to have simple activities for the busy minds and bodies.  

Hope your winter is being enjoyed! 

-Gwendolyn