Mandel
- Wilson
Unexplored
Nebulae Project
Discovering,
cataloging and imaging unexplored nebulae of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Integrated
Flux Nebulae
Integrated Flux
Nebulae is the term I've coined to describe high galactic latitude nebulae
that are illuminated not by a single star (as most nebula in the plane
of the Galaxy are) but by the energy from the integrated flux of all the
stars in the Milky Way. These nebulae clouds, an important component
of the Interstellar Medium, are composed of dust particles, hydrogen and
carbon monoxide and other elements.
The dust is scattering
blue light and is fluorescing a broad red spectrum of light known as the
Extended Red Emission (ERE) that adds an additional broad-band emission
to the red part of the spectrum. Therefore, on color images
there are both blue and red components creating beautiful and interesting
images. The dust clouds were known but the beautiful nebulae within them
were not, and these are the first images of them.
The dust map below
shows the large structure called the "Polar Spur" a large plume of
dust ejected from the plane of the galaxy to very high galactic latitudes
- it covers Polaris. I have devised a nomenclature, named the major
components and have imaged a number of these areas. The catalog of
these objects, and others, is called the Mandel-Wilson Catalog of Unknown
Nebula. See the thumbnails below the map for links to the larger
images.
Adapted from IR Dust Maps provided
by astronomers: D.J. Schlegel, D.P. Finkbeiner, & M. Davis
This map shows the area known as "The Polar
Spur" - a high galactic latitude cloud of dust illuminated by the integrated
flux of the Milky Way
This image is a negative image which allows
the viewer to see more detail - thus, dark areas represent bright portions
of the sky.
MW = Mandel-Wilson
Catalog of Unexplored Nebulae - See link for catalog.
Click on the thumbnail or caption
below to see the full size image:
Home
- Integrated Flux Nebulae
- Emission Nebulae
- The Mandel-Wilson Catalogue of Unexplored
Nebulae - Equipment
