chromosphere

RA: 05h 35m 17s, Dec: -5°23′28″
The Orion Nebula (M42 (NGC 1976) & M43) is located in the “sword” of Orion and is a large emission nebula that is easily visible to the naked eye. It is an area of star formation - the closest such to Earth at a distance of 1500 light years. The nebula is an estimated 30 light years across, and contains a young star cluster (the Trapezium) in the bright core of the nebula. The reflection nebula at the top of the image is the “Running Man” nebula (NGC 1973, 1975 and 1977) - so named due to the resemblance of the silhouetted dust lanes.

I had lots of trouble with this image (taken on 6th Feb, 2007) - the flats I took didn’t work out (there’s the odd artifact here and there!), and I’m not quite happy with the colour balance - have another go at this later I think…

RA: 06h 41m, Dec: +9°53′
The Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster are part of a larger star forming complex within the constellation of Monoceros. A 2.5 hour exposure in H-Alpha light taken 22nd December 2006 using an Astrodon filter shows only glowing hydrogen gas and stars - the blue reflection nebula near to the “Fox Fur” nebula (below the bright variable star S Monocerotis) often seen in photos of this region is largely invisible as most light is of the wrong wavelength and is rejected by the filter.

RA: 06h 33m 45s, Dec: +4°59′54″
The Rosette Nebula is a large H II region located in the constellation of Monoceros, just to the left of Orion. The nebula is a large star forming region with a cluster at the centre that , through the action of the stellar winds, has blown a large cavity out of the nebula from which it formed. The nebula itself is often referred to simply as NGC 2237 (though NGC 2238, NGC 2239 and NGC 2246 are all parts of the same nebula). The cluster is designated NGC 2244.

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All grain number three at the weekend - this time something slightly stronger and darker. I want to try Orfy’s Hobgoblin recipe (from Jim’s Beer Kit) - the Wychwood Brewery is only about 5 miles up the road from here - but I need to order some Styrians and Carapils in, so had to go for something else. Clone Brews has a version of Theakston’s Old Peculier, which is somewhat different to other recipes, and probably not dark enough to be right, but none the less, I’m hoping it’s at the least going to turn out a nice pint (and who cares if it’s not spot on if it’s nice and drinkable).

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Had All Grain brewday number two on Sat 8th March while Tash went to the ballet in Oxford, and decided to brew up the Brains “Traditional Welsh Ale” recipe from “Clone Brews“.

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I thought I should invent a name for my brewing exploits. I struggled for a bit to think of a name and eventually came up with (drum-roll…):

“The Beorhthelm Brewery”

It’s a strange name, but where we live (Brighthampton) may have its roots from the Anglo Saxon name “Beorhthelm” (or “Beorthelm” or “Brithelm”) and the word “tun” meaning settlement. Over the ages, this has contracted (probably) from “Beorthelm’s-tun” to “Brighthampton”. There have been several Anglo-Saxon discoveries in the area which are kept at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

All I need to do now is come up with a nice design for a brewery logo…