| Barnard's Loop(Sh2-276) / Diffused Nebula, type E |
|---|
| R.A. | 05h 27m 30.0s (2000.0) |
|---|
| Dec. | -03°58' 00" (2000.0) |
|---|
| Apparent Size | Approx. 600' |
|---|
| Real Size | 440×280 light yrs. |
|---|
| Magnitude | - |
|---|
| Distance | 1500 light yrs. |
|---|
This is a complete view of Barnard's Loop, an Hα nebula that almost completely surrounds the southern half of the Orion constellation.
You can display an emphasized red channel of color image by clicking on a button in upper right hand of this page.
Currently, the nebula's actual size is an elliptical shape measuring 440 by 280 light-years.
It was discovered in 1895 by the American astronomer E. E. Barnard from photographs, which is why it bears his name.
The northern side of the loop is bright, and this region appears most clearly in photographs.
The southern loop is somewhat fainter, but you can see that extremely faint interstellar gas spreads across the entire area between it and the Orion Nebula (M42).
Barnard's Loop is thought to be the expanding remains of gas expelled by a supernova explosion that occurred around 2 million years ago near the midpoint between the Orion Nebula and the Horsehead Nebula.
As the blast wave expanded, it is believed to have spread while leaving behind gas in this seemingly empty space.
Barnard's Loop is designated as Sh2-276 in the Sharpless catalog of emission nebulae, with the registered position being 2.3 degrees northwest of M42,
corresponding to the loop's central coordinates.
The loop itself has several numbers from the Lynd's Bright Nebula catalog (LBN) assigned to various parts from north to south.
 |
Objects around Barnard's Loop |
|
