Featured Photograph
Messier 42, the magnificent Orion Nebula
© 2024 Klaus Brasch
Messier 42, the magnificent Orion Nebula, a favorite object in any amateur telescope, is usually portrayed in vivid, high contrast colors. While that looks spectacular, the reality is that one of our closest stellar nursery’s true colors are likely much more subdued. I have attempted to depict it in hues one might expect as seen in a large aperture telescope, showing the light pink emission regions and the bluish reflection veils surrounding the nebula’s core.
DETAILS: Astro Physics AP 155 Starfire shooting at f/5.2, though an IDAS LPS-V4 filter and a spectrally modified Canon EOS 6D Mrk II. Total exposure: 8 minutes at ISO 4000.
Klaus Brasch
The featured photograph is any astronomical photograph provided by one of our members. If you are a member and have a photogaph you would like to submit please send the request along with the photograph and description to: info@coconinoastro.org.
Monthly Meeting for April
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Presenter: Kevin Shindler – Lowell Historian
Title: “(Mother) Road to the Stars: The Space Heritage of Rte 66”
Route 66 is one of the most storied roadways in North America, known for its roadside diners, historic hotels and kitschy attractions. But it also boasts an extraordinary space heritage; along its course lies the birthplaces of space pioneers, centers of planetary exploration and discovery, training grounds for Moon-bound astronauts, the best-preserved asteroid impact site in the world, and museums celebrating these cosmic connections. In honor of the upcoming centennial of Route 66, Kevin Schindler will lead a virtual trip from Chicago to Los Angeles along the Mother Road and explore this space heritage.
Kevin Schindler is the historian and public information officer at Lowell Observatory - where he has worked for 30 years - and an active member of the Flagstaff history and science communities. He has authored eight books and contributes a bi-weekly astronomy column, “View from Mars Hill”, for the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper. In May 2023, he served as Astronomer in Residence at the Grand Canyon. Fun fact: Kevin has both a fossil crab and asteroid named after him.
CAS Monthly Meetings and Astronomical Programs are held the
Saturday closest to the Full Moon at the Mars Hill Campus of
Lowell Observatory, Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies
Auditorium (6:45 pm - 8:00 pm)., unless otherwise noted) followed
by refreshments, and informal discussion. Meetings are open and free
to the public.
