Orion's fuzzy head?

[rocketandroll]

Hi all

I may just be being stupid.... but when out imaging the other night I watched orion rise and noticed something I hadn't noticed before...

Now I think I've got pretty good eyesight and even with the LP and poor conditions I could see the milky way and the nebulosity around the Pleiades with the naked eye the other night... what I also saw (that I hadn't before) was a small open cluster at Orion's head which also seemed to be 'fuzzy' like a mini version of the Pleiades?

I was wondering if this actually is a star cluster in a nebulous region or if I was imagining it?

Ben

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Ben

There is a star there (where Orion's head would be) called Meissa. Its a binary star system that is surrounded by a nebula called Meissa's Ring. There are about 3-4 main stars in the area that to the naked eye appear to be an open cluster (Collinder 69).

Here's a good image which shows the area well: place your cursor on the image to get the outlines (if you want)

http://www.astronomyboy.com/constellations/ori.shtml

[ollypenrice]

I doubt that the main Ha nebulosity would be visible but your fella is in the middle of this lot!

Olly

[LukeSkywatcher]

Yes,sorry. I should have also said that the nebulosity really wouldnt be visible to the naked eye.