Photography by Daniel C.Good, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Neurosurgeon Emeritus, Lancaster NeuroScience & Spine Associates
HORSEHEAD NEBULA - The Horsehead Nebula is so dim visually that it was not discovered until the area was photographed in1888. IIC434 is a giant molecular cloud complex that glows red from the intense radiation of the blue star Alnitak, the left belt star in Orion located just outside the image. B33, a cloud of dense cold dust in the shape of a horse’s head, is moving into the ionized gas. The border of collision gives the horse's head an aura of brilliant red. The dust in the lower left glows in reflected light from a hot blue star within. Between the horse’s neck and the reflection nebula are small red areas of proto-stars surrounded by the dust clouds from which they formed.
“The combination of physics, photography and the artistic is irresistible to amateur astronomers.We are in awe of the size and aesthetic beauty of the universe.”
— Daniel C. Good, M.D.
Dr. Daniel C. Good has devoted 30 years to providing outstanding neurosurgical care to thousands of patients in Central Pennsylvania. When he retired in 2004, he was able to fully immerse himself in his dual interests of astronomy and photography. His work has been featured at the North Museum in an exhibit entitled Colorful Cosmos.
The sophistication of today’s digital photography has taken celestial photography to new heights, allowing Dr. Good to use his well-honed skills to create photographs that rival the best to be found. His work can be seen in the March 2008 issue of the prestigious publication Astronomy.
His images are painstakingly created using the most current technology. Time exposures and filters are critical to producing a combined photograph that conveys the celestial image as it really is, since it cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Dr. Good pursues his artistic interests here in Central Pennsylvania at the Mount Gretna Observatory near Pennsylvania State Game Lands because it is the least light-polluted area within a reasonable driving distance.
He is also the owner of a Florida observatory located in the Chiefland Astronomy Village in Florida. The village is home to serious amateur astronomers only. It was founded by an amateur astronomer who traveled the southeast to find the darkest site with the steadiest sky.
PLEIADES - The Pleiades are familiar as a formation of bright stars seen in the fall sky, and as the logo on Subaru cars. Some refer to the group as the seven sisters because seven stars can be seen with the naked eye. The 10 million year-old, 20,000-degree open cluster is rapidly moving through the galaxy. The brilliant light of these young, hot stars is reflected on a large cloud of dust, which is moving through the region.
COMET HALE-BOPP - Amateur astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered their comet while casually observing in December of 1995. What appeared as a tiny smudge eventually became the most brilliant comet of the past century, shining brighter than any star except Sirius. At 30 to 40 kilometers, it had the largest known nucleus. The yellow tail of the comet is the dust that follows the trail of the comet reflecting the yellow light of the sun. The blue tail is ionized gas, which the solar wind causes to point away from the sun.
HOLE IN THE UNIVERSE? - We are looking deep toward the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Early astronomers thought they were peering through an opening in the innumerable stars.In the early part of the last century E. E. Barnard, a self-trained amateur astronomer, realized this was actually a cloud of dark dust in front of the background stars.Those stars look yellowish because of diffuse dust in the area. The bright blue stars are a cluster of young hot nearby stars.
(Left) ROSETTE NEBULA - The Rosette nebula covers an area larger than the full moon in the constellation Monoceros, but is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. The central cluster of stars was first observed in 1690. It is a huge cloud of ionized gas that surrounds an area of intense star formation. The central giant hot blue stars formed less than 3 million years ago. This cluster of stars creates an intense radiation wind that is 6 million degrees. The wind has hollowed a central core while causing the surrounding gases to glow. The dark Bok globules and dark lanes further out are condensations of gas and dust where new stars will soon form. The photographic image, shows the extent of the red glow of ionized hydrogen.
(Right) NGC 6992 VEIL NEBULA - Ten thousand years ago a supernova explosion in the constellation Cygnus marked the violent death of a giant star. The shock wave of the explosion continues to expand at 800,000miles an hour, now covering an area the size of three full moons. As the expanding blast plows into the local stationary gases they are heated to millions of degrees causing the elements to glow. The thin boundary creates the appearance of delicate tendrils. All elements heavier than iron can only be created in supernova explosions. This image was made with narrow-band filters that exclusively record the glowing emissions from ionized hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur.
(Left) NORTH AMERICAN NEBULA - This huge collection of gas and dust takes up an area of the sky equal to ten times the full moon. It is very dim and can rarely be seen with the naked eye from a very dark site. It can more easily be seen with binoculars and a light pollution filter. It disappears in the magnification of a telescope. Intervening dust has carved out Florida and the Gulf of Mexico giving a North American shape. The intense ultraviolet radiation of Deneb, the bright star that is the tail of Cygnus, causes the gas to glow. This image was made with the AP refractor with a medium format 6X9 negative.
(Right) M83-BARRED SPIRAL GALAXY - The galaxy M83, first described in 1752, is thought to resemble our own MilkyWay in size. It has had 6 supernova eruptions in the last century, more than any galaxy in our region. Recent observations through X-ray telescopes have shown that there are actually two black holes at the center rather than the usual one. There is also a double circular starburst region. These findings suggest that M 83 is the product of a merger of two spiral galaxies about 8 million years ago. The multiple red areas are locations of recent star formation.
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