The Orion Arm is a minor
spiral arm
Spiral galaxies form a class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''[Milky Way Galaxy
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...]
that is across and approximately in length, containing the
Solar System
The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
, including
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
. It is also referred to by its full name, the Orion–Cygnus Arm, as well as Local Arm, Orion Bridge, and formerly, the Local Spur and Orion Spur.
The arm is named for the
Orion Constellation
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. I ...
, which is one of the most prominent constellations of Northern Hemisphere winter (Southern Hemisphere summer). Some of the brightest stars and most famous celestial objects of the constellation (e.g.
Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of spectral type M1-2 and one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye. It is usually the tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel, the second-brightest in the constellation of O ...
,
Rigel
Rigel is a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. It has the Bayer designation β Orionis, which is Latinized to Beta Orionis and abbreviated Beta Ori or β Ori. Rigel is the brightest and most massive componentand ...
, the three stars of
Orion's Belt
Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.
Looking for Orion's Belt is the easiest way to ...
, the
Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the ni ...
) are within it as shown on the
interactive map below.
The arm is between the
Carina–Sagittarius Arm
The Carina–Sagittarius Arm (also known as the Sagittarius Arm or Sagittarius–Carina Arm, labeled -I) is generally thought to be a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Each spiral arm is a long, diffuse curving streamer of stars that radi ...
(the local portions of which are toward the
Galactic Center
The Galactic Center or Galactic Centre is the rotational center, the barycenter, of the Milky Way galaxy. Its central massive object is a supermassive black hole of about 4 million solar masses, which is called Sagittarius A*, a compact ra ...
) and the
Perseus Arm
The Perseus Arm is one of two major spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy. The second major arm is called the Scutum–Centaurus Arm. The Perseus Arm begins from the distal end of the long Milky Way central bar. Previously thought to be 13,000 lig ...
(the local portion of which is the main outer-most arm and one of two major arms of the galaxy).
Long thought to be a minor structure, namely a "spur" between the two arms mentioned, evidence was presented in mid 2013 that the Orion Arm might be a branch of the Perseus Arm, or possibly an independent arm segment.
Within the arm, the Solar System is close to its inner rim, in a relative cavity in the arm's
interstellar medium
In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter and radiation that exist in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as dust and cosmic rays. It fills interstella ...
known as the
Local Bubble
The Local Bubble, or Local Cavity, is a relative cavity in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way. It contains the closest of celestial neighbours and among others, the Local Interstellar Cloud (which contains the Sol ...
, about halfway along the arm's length, approximately from the Galactic Center.
Recently, the parallax and proper motion of more than 30
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is ...
(6.7-GHz) and water (22-GHz) masers in high-mass star-forming regions within a few kiloparsecs of the Sun were measured. Measurement accuracy was better than ±10% and even 3%, the best parallax measurement in the BeSSeL project (
Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy Survey
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (un ...
). The accuracy locations of interstellar masers in
HMSFRs (high-mass star-forming regions) have been shown that the Local Arm appears to be an orphan segment of an arm between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms that wraps around less than a quarter of the Milky Way. The segment has the length of ~20,000 ly and the width of ~3,000 ly with the pitch angle from 10.1° ± 2.7° to 11.6° ± 1.8°. These results reveal that the Local Arm is larger than previously thought, and both its pitch angle and star formation rate are comparable to those of the Galaxy’s major spiral arms. The Local Arm is reasonably referred to as the fifth feature in the Milky Way. The “spur” interpretation may be incorrect.
[
To understand the form of the Local Arm between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms, the stellar density of a specific population of stars with about 1 Gyr of age between 90° ≤ l ≤ 270° have been mapped using the Gaia DR2. The 1 Gyr population have been employed because they are significantly more-evolved objects than the gas in HMSFRs tracing the Local Arm. Investigations have been carried out to compare both the stellar density and gas distribution along the Local Arm. Researchers have found a marginally significant arm-like stellar overdensity close to the Local Arm, identified with the HMSFRs especially in the region of 90° ≤ l ≤ 190°. They have concluded that the Local Arm is the arm segment associated with only the gas and star-forming clouds, with a significant stellar overdensity. Additionally, they have found that the pitch angle of the stellar arm is slightly larger than the gas-defined arm, and also there is an offset between gas-defined and stellar arm. The offset and different pitch angles between the stellar and HMSFR-defined spiral arms are consistent with the expectation that star formation lags the gas compression in a spiral density wave lasting longer than the typical star formation timescale of 107 − 108 years.Shen, j., and Zheng, X.]
Shen, j., and Zheng, X., 2020, RAA, Vol.20, No.10,159
Messier objects
The Orion Arm contains a number of
Messier objects
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters'').
Because Messier was only in ...
:
*The
Butterfly Cluster
The Butterfly Cluster (cataloged as Messier 6 or M6, and as NGC 6405) is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scorpius. Its name derives from the vague resemblance of its shape to a butterfly. The Trumpler classification of ...
(M6)
*The
Ptolemy Cluster
Messier 7 or M7, also designated NGC 6475 and sometimes known as the Ptolemy Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Scorpius. The cluster is easily detectable with the naked eye, close to the "stinger" of Scorpius. With a d ...
(M7)
*
Open Cluster M23
*
Open Cluster M25
*The
Dumbbell Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as the Apple Core Nebula, Messier 27, and NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (nebulosity surrounding a white dwarf) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years. It was the first such nebula ...
(M27)
*
Open Cluster M29
*
Open Cluster M34
*
Open Cluster M35
*
Open Cluster M39
*
Winnecke 4
Winnecke 4 (also known as Messier 40 or WNC 4) is an optical double star consisting of two unrelated stars in a northerly zone of the sky, Ursa Major.
The pair were discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 while he was searching for a neb ...
(M40)
*
Open Cluster M41
*The
Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the ni ...
(M42)
*The
De Mairan's Nebula (M43)
*The
Beehive Cluster
The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger" or "crib"), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189), is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than oth ...
(M44)
*The
Pleiades
The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...
(M45)
*
Open Cluster M46
*
Open Cluster M47
*
Open Cluster M48
Messier 48 or M48, also known as NGC 2548, is an open cluster of stars in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It sits near Hydra's westernmost limit with Monoceros, about to the east and slightly south of Hydra's brightest star, Alphard. ...
*
Open Cluster M50
*The
Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula (also catalogued as Messier 57, M57 and NGC 6720) is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Lyra. Such a nebula is formed when a star, during the last stages of its evolution before becoming a white dwarf, expels a ...
(M57)
*
Open Cluster M67
*
M73
*The
Little Dumbbell Nebula
The Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, NGC 650/651, the Barbell Nebula, or the Cork Nebula,
is a planetary nebula in northern constellation Perseus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included in Charles Messier's c ...
(M76)
*
Diffuse Nebula M78
*
Open Cluster M93
*The
Owl Nebula
The Owl Nebula (also known as Messier 97, M97 or NGC 3587) is a starburst ("planetary") nebula approximately 2,030 light years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major. The estimated age of the Owl Nebula is about 8,000 years. It is approx ...
(M97)
Interactive maps
Image:Orion Arm.JPG, frame, center, Orion and neighboring arms (clickable map)
rect 126 149 188 182 Rosette Nebula
The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is an H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, t ...
rect 285 116 327 145 Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 u ...
rect 243 245 284 274 Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the ni ...
rect 299 288 345 312 Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region in the north-west of Sagittarius in a star-forming region in the Milky Way's Scutum-Centaurus Arm.
It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. I ...
rect 343 304 384 333 Lagoon Nebula
The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or M8, NGC 6523, Sharpless 25, RCW 146, and Gum 72) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region.
The Lagoon Nebula was ...
rect 393 322 434 353 Omega Nebula
The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula (catalogued as Messier 17 or M17 or NGC 6618) is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys d ...
rect 445 322 494 353 Eagle Nebula
rect 424 244 483 280 North America Nebula
The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complet ...
rect 293 248 319 266 Rigel
Rigel is a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. It has the Bayer designation β Orionis, which is Latinized to Beta Orionis and abbreviated Beta Ori or β Ori. Rigel is the brightest and most massive componentand ...
rect 225 179 299 246 Orion's Belt
Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.
Looking for Orion's Belt is the easiest way to ...
rect 331 211 368 234 Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude th ...
rect 318 236 353 259 Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
poly 302 176 303 241 315 242 361 177 Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of spectral type M1-2 and one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye. It is usually the tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel, the second-brightest in the constellation of O ...
rect 419 222 458 245 Deneb
Deneb () is a first-magnitude star in the constellation of Cygnus, the swan. Deneb is one of the vertices of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle and the "head" of the Northern Cross. It is the brightest star in Cygnus and the ...
poly 0 123 508 118 637 160 637 217 470 163 0 178 Perseus Arm
The Perseus Arm is one of two major spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy. The second major arm is called the Scutum–Centaurus Arm. The Perseus Arm begins from the distal end of the long Milky Way central bar. Previously thought to be 13,000 lig ...
poly 2 202 460 201 633 261 637 326 408 260 1 258 Orion Arm
The Orion Arm is a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy that is across and approximately in length, containing the Solar System, including Earth. It is also referred to by its full name, the Orion–Cygnus Arm, as well as Local Arm, Orion ...
poly 1 284 397 293 633 360 637 477 541 475 357 413 0 400 Sagittarius Arm
Sagittarius ( ) may refer to:
*Sagittarius (constellation)
*Sagittarius (astrology), a sign of the Zodiac
Ships
*'' SuperStar Sagittarius'', a cruise ship
* USS ''Sagittarius'' (AKN-2), a World War II US Navy cargo ship
Music
*Sagittarius (ba ...
desc bottom-left
Image:Nearest Nebulae and Star clusters.gif, 800px, center, The nearest nebulae and star clusters (clickable map)
rect 396 142 447 173 Rosette Nebula
The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is an H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, t ...
rect 376 230 426 258 Seagull Nebula
IC 2177 is a region of nebulosity that lies along the border between the constellations Monoceros (constellation), Monoceros and Canis Major. It is a roughly circular H II region centered on the Be star HD 53367. This nebula was discovered by We ...
rect 463 264 501 292 Cone Nebula
The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785, at which time he designated it H V.27. The nebula is located about 830 parsecs or 2,700 light-years away from Earth ...
rect 528 284 576 322 California Nebula
The California Nebula ( NGC 1499/ Sh2-220) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. Its name comes from its resemblance to the outline of the US State of California in long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the ...
rect 695 117 741 149 Heart Nebula
The Heart Nebula (also known as the Running dog nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190) is an emission nebula, 7500 light years away from Earth and located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William ...
rect 461 301 494 339 Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the ni ...
rect 691 154 739 182 Soul Nebula
Westerhout 5 ( Sharpless 2-199, LBN 667, Soul Nebula) is an emission nebula located in Cassiopeia. Several small open clusters are embedded in the nebula: CR 34, 632, and 634 (in the head) and IC 1848 (in the body). The object is more com ...
rect 568 371 625 405 North America Nebula
The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complet ...
rect 643 366 687 402 Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146 (also Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, Barnard 168, and the Cocoon Nebula) is a reflection/ emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright ...
rect 688 392 761 429 Gamma Cygni Nebula
The Sadr Region (also known as IC 1318 or the Gamma Cygni Nebula) is the diffuse emission nebula surrounding Sadr (γ Cygni) at the center of Cygnus's cross. The Sadr Region is one of the surrounding nebulous regions; others include the Butterfly ...
rect 594 404 625 444 Veil Nebula
rect 513 541 550 578 Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region in the north-west of Sagittarius in a star-forming region in the Milky Way's Scutum-Centaurus Arm.
It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. I ...
poly 676 435 690 435 692 427 723 429 726 461 677 461 Crescent Nebula
The Crescent Nebula (also known as NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away from Earth. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1792. It is formed by the fast stella ...
rect 489 597 543 630 Lagoon Nebula
The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or M8, NGC 6523, Sharpless 25, RCW 146, and Gum 72) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region.
The Lagoon Nebula was ...
rect 555 592 595 626 Omega Nebula
The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula (catalogued as Messier 17 or M17 or NGC 6618) is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys d ...
rect 574 646 614 689 Eagle Nebula
rect 444 633 500 678 Cat's Paw Nebula
rect 90 502 161 529 Eta Carinae Nebula
The Carina Nebula or Eta Carinae Nebula (catalogued as NGC 3372; also known as the Great Carina Nebula) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky W ...
rect 442 37 491 69 Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 u ...
rect 517 158 547 175 Messier 37
rect 527 172 559 190 Messier 36
rect 533 191 563 208 Messier 38
rect 408 257 434 280 Messier 50
Messier 50 or M 50, also known as NGC 2323, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Monoceros. It was recorded by G. D. Cassini before 1711 and independently discovered by Charles Messier in 1772 while observing Biela's Comet. It is ...
rect 327 232 357 257 Messier 46
Messier 46 or M46, also known as NGC 2437, is an open cluster of stars in the slightly southern constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. Dreyer described it as "very bright, very rich, very large." It is about 5,0 ...
rect 422 285 454 302 Messier 67
Messier 67 (also known as M67 or NGC 2682) and sometimes called the King Cobra cluster or the Golden Eye cluster is an open cluster in the southern, equatorial half of Cancer. It was discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in 1779. Estimates of i ...
rect 553 321 582 338 Messier 34
Messier 34 (also known as M34 or NGC 1039) is a large and relatively near open cluster in Perseus. It was probably discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects in 1764. ...
rect 433 305 461 321 Messier 48
Messier 48 or M48, also known as NGC 2548, is an open cluster of stars in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It sits near Hydra's westernmost limit with Monoceros, about to the east and slightly south of Hydra's brightest star, Alphard. ...
rect 409 314 435 330 Messier 41
rect 425 328 456 345 Messier 47
Messier 47 (M47 or NGC 2422) is an open cluster in the mildly southern constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and in his then keynote work re-discovered by Charles Messier on 1771. It was also independe ...
rect 474 343 500 365 Messier 44 Messier may refer to:
People with the surname
*Charles Messier, French astronomer
*Éric Messier, former NHL defenseman
*George Messier, French inventor
*Jean-Marie Messier, former CEO of Vivendi Universal
*Marc Messier, Canadian actor from Quebec
...
rect 502 345 528 368 Messier 45 Messier may refer to:
People with the surname
*Charles Messier, French astronomer
*Éric Messier, former NHL defenseman
*George Messier, French inventor
*Jean-Marie Messier, former CEO of Vivendi Universal
*Marc Messier, Canadian actor from Quebec
...
rect 542 378 568 399 Messier 39
Messier 39 or M39, also known as NGC 7092, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Cygnus, positioned two degrees to the south of the star Pi Cygni and around 9° east-northeast of Deneb. The cluster was discovered by Guillaume Le ...
rect 714 285 748 308 Messier 52
rect 352 285 379 308 Messier 93
Messier 93 or M93, also known as NGC 2447, is an open cluster in the modestly southern constellation Puppis, the imagined poop deck of the legendary ''Argo''.
Observational history and appearance
It was discovered by Charles Messier then added ...
rect 489 421 513 444 Messier 7
rect 495 452 518 473 Messier 6 Messier may refer to:
People with the surname
*Charles Messier, French astronomer
* Éric Messier, former NHL defenseman
* George Messier, French inventor
*Jean-Marie Messier, former CEO of Vivendi Universal
* Marc Messier, Canadian actor from Queb ...
rect 522 456 549 476 Messier 25
Messier 25, also known as IC 4725, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Sagittarius. The first recorded observation of this cluster was made by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745 and it was included in Charles Messier's ...
rect 512 478 539 500 Messier 23
Messier 23, also known as NGC 6494, is an open cluster of stars in the northwest of the southern constellation of Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It can be found in good conditions with binoculars or a modestly sized ...
rect 531 575 555 593 Messier 21
Messier 21 or M21, also designated NGC 6531 or Webb's Cross, is an open cluster of stars located to the north-east of Sagittarius in the night sky, close to the Messier objects M20 to M25 (except M24). It was discovered and catalogued by Char ...
rect 556 564 589 580 Messier 18
Messier 18 or M18, also designated NGC 6613, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 and included in his list of comet-like objects. From the perspective of Earth, M18 is situat ...
rect 605 598 640 617 Messier 26
Messier 26, also known as NGC 6694, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scutum. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. This 8th magnitude cluster is a challenge to find in ideal skies with typical binoculars, wher ...
rect 630 618 654 639 Messier 11 Messier may refer to:
People with the surname
*Charles Messier, French astronomer
*Éric Messier, former NHL defenseman
*George Messier, French inventor
*Jean-Marie Messier, former CEO of Vivendi Universal
*Marc Messier, Canadian actor from Quebec
...
rect 484 234 510 256 Messier 35
rect 287 248 316 276 NGC 2362
NGC 2362, also known as Caldwell 64, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Canis Major. It was discovered by the Italian court astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna, who published his finding in 1654. William Herschel called ...
rect 370 359 411 381 IC 2395
rect 359 413 390 449 NGC 3114
NGC 3114 is a sparse open cluster which is projected onto the outskirts of the Carina (constellation), Carina complex.G. Carraro, F. Patat, "Star clusters in the Carina complex: UBVRI photometry of NGC 3114, Colliner 228 and vdB-Hage 99*, A&A, Vol ...
rect 407 396 444 432 NGC 3532
rect 594 356 644 372 IC 1396
rect 458 392 502 406 IC 2602
IC 2602 (also known as the Southern Pleiades, Theta Carinae Cluster, or Caldwell 102) is an open cluster in the constellation Carina. Discovered by Abbe Lacaille in 1751 from South Africa, the cluster is easily visible to the unaided eye, and is on ...
rect 407 494 443 521 NGC 6087
NGC 6087 (also known as Caldwell 89 or the S Normae Cluster) is an open cluster of 40 or moreBurnham's ''Celestial Handbook'' gives the number 40, though other studies go as high as 349; see Stephen James O'Meara, ''The Caldwell Objects'', Cambri ...
rect 437 464 472 497 NGC 6025
rect 262 478 300 506 NGC 3766
NGC 3766 (also known as Caldwell 97) is an open star cluster in the southern constellation Centaurus. It is located in the vast star-forming region known as the Carina molecular cloud, and was discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille during his a ...
rect 513 427 554 451 IC 4665
rect 181 445 226 472 IC 2581
rect 212 506 257 526 IC 2944
rect 213 565 246 598 NGC 4755
The Jewel Box (also known as the Kappa Crucis Cluster, NGC 4755, or Caldwell 94) is an open cluster in the constellation Crux, originally discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751–1752. This cluster was later named the Jewel Box by Joh ...
rect 128 463 154 494 NGC 3293
rect 362 591 392 628 NGC 6067
NGC 6067 is an open cluster in the constellation Norma. It is located to the north of Kappa Normae, with an angular diameter of 12. Visible to the naked eye in dark skies, it is best observed with binoculars or a small telescope, and a 12-inch ...
rect 404 548 437 587 NGC 6193
rect 425 595 453 630 NGC 6231
NGC 6231 (also known as Caldwell 76) is an open cluster in the southern sky located half a degrees north of Zeta Scorpii. NGC 6231 is part of a swath of young, bluish stars in the constellation Scorpius known as the Scorpius OB1 association. Th ...
rect 461 556 498 585 NGC 6383
HD 159176, also known as Boss 4444 and V1036 Scorpii, is a variable star about 2,800 light years from the Earth, in the constellation Scorpius. It is a 5th magnitude star, so it should be visible to the naked eye of an observer far fr ...
rect 58 506 91 521 Tr 14
TR or tr may stand for
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* Tomb Raider, one of the most successful video game franchises
* Terminal Reality, an American video game developer
* A currency in online game ''TalesRunner''
* The Terran Republic in the g ...
rect 77 520 108 536 Tr 16
TR or tr may stand for
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* Tomb Raider, one of the most successful video game franchises
* Terminal Reality, an American video game developer
* A currency in online game ''TalesRunner''
* The Terran Republic in the g ...
rect 797 130 831 153 Messier 103
Messier 103 (also known as M103, or NGC 581) is an open cluster where a few hundred, mainly very faint, stars figure in Cassiopeia. It was discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier's friend and collaborator Pierre Méchain.Robert Bruce Thompson ''M ...
rect 665 408 691 434 Messier 29
Messier 29 or M29, also known as NGC 6913, is a quite small, bright open cluster of stars just south of the central bright star Gamma Cygni of a northerly zone of the sky, Cygnus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, and can be seen f ...
rect 746 139 782 157 hPer
rect 763 117 804 132 chi Per
NGC 884 (also known as χ Persei) is an open cluster located 7640 light years away in the constellation of Perseus. It is the easternmost of the Double Cluster with NGC 869. NGC 869 and 884 are often designated h and χ Persei, respectively.Som ...
rect 152 485 194 500 Col 228
rect 456 377 492 393 o Vel
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
poly 0 0 496 0 841 130 976 221 972 421 633 224 277 129 5 111 Perseus Arm
The Perseus Arm is one of two major spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy. The second major arm is called the Scutum–Centaurus Arm. The Perseus Arm begins from the distal end of the long Milky Way central bar. Previously thought to be 13,000 lig ...
poly 2 230 444 239 688 340 970 495 971 639 559 452 317 387 1 380 Orion Arm
The Orion Arm is a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy that is across and approximately in length, containing the Solar System, including Earth. It is also referred to by its full name, the Orion–Cygnus Arm, as well as Local Arm, Orion ...
poly 2 481 423 492 694 606 922 757 470 761 234 669 1 668 Sagittarius Arm
Sagittarius ( ) may refer to:
*Sagittarius (constellation)
*Sagittarius (astrology), a sign of the Zodiac
Ships
*'' SuperStar Sagittarius'', a cruise ship
* USS ''Sagittarius'' (AKN-2), a World War II US Navy cargo ship
Music
*Sagittarius (ba ...
rect 879 666 965 684 Star cluster
Star clusters are large groups of stars. Two main types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of ten thousand to millions of old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters are more loosely cl ...
rect 878 684 944 699 Nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
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Other maps
See also
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Galactic disc
A galactic disc (or galactic disk) is a component of disc galaxies, such as spiral galaxies and lenticular galaxies. Galactic discs consist of a stellar component (composed of most of the galaxy's stars) and a gaseous component (mostly composed ...
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Gould Belt
The Gould Belt is a local, partial ring of stars in the Milky Way, about 3,000 light-years long, tilted away from the galactic plane by about 16–20 degrees. It contains many O- and B-type stars, amounting to the nearest star-forming re ...
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Jon Lomberg's
Milky Way painting used as background for
Kepler Mission
The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbi ...
diagram, showing our location on the Orion Spur
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Local Bubble
The Local Bubble, or Local Cavity, is a relative cavity in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way. It contains the closest of celestial neighbours and among others, the Local Interstellar Cloud (which contains the Sol ...
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Loop I Bubble
The Loop I Bubble is a cavity in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. From our Sun's point of view, it is situated towards the Galactic Center of the Milky Way galaxy. Two conspicuous tunnels connect the Local Bubble ...
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List of Messier objects
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters'').
Because Messier was only in ...
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List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs
This list covers all known stars, brown dwarfs, and sub-brown dwarfs within of the Sun. So far, 131 such objects have been found, of which only 22 are bright enough to be visible without a telescope. The visible light needs to reach or exce ...
References
External links
Messier Objects in the Milky Way (SEDS)A 3D map of the Milky Way Galaxy
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Milky Way arms
Galactic astronomy
Spiral galaxies