万圣节和巫师星云
(原标题: Halloween and the Wizard Nebula)
2023-10-31
浏览次数: 17
万圣节的起源很古老，而且是天文数字。自公元前五世纪以来，万圣节就被作为一个跨四分之一日来庆祝，这一天位于春分（等日/等夜）和至日（北半球白天最少/黑夜最多）之间。然而，在现代日历中，尽管万圣节是在今天，但真正的跨季度日将在下周发生。另一个跨季度日是土拨鼠日。万圣节的现代庆祝活动保留了历史根源，即穿着衣服吓跑死者的灵魂。也许这张巫师星云（NGC 7380）的特写照片是对这个古老节日的恰当致敬。从视觉上看，恒星、气体和尘埃的相互作用创造了一个形状，在一些人看来就像一个虚构的古代巫师。虽然星云可能只存在几百万年，但一些被巨大的引力从气体中召唤出来的恒星可能比我们的太阳还要长寿。
查看原文解释
Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With a modern calendar however, even though Halloween occurs today, the real cross-quarter day will occur next week. Another cross-quarter day is Groundhog Day. Halloween's modern celebration retains historic roots in dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead. Perhaps a fitting tribute to this ancient holiday is this closeup view of the Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380). Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional ancient sorcerer. Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being conjured from the gas by the great gravitational powers may outlive our Sun.
© Richard McInnis