Looking forward to “God’s Eye” | interior

Freddy Nauta still remembers the Hubble Telescope images of the nebula earlier. “It’s a little scary. That’s what makes it so attractive,” describes an astronomer at the Phoenix Observatory in Lochem, the colorful, eye-shaped ‘star nebula’ that looks just above our horizon this time of year.

exploding star

“It happens every year, but the moon can throw a wrench in the works. But that is not the case this year,” explains Nauta. It does not rise until late in the evening at the other end of the night sky and also becomes “smaller”. And so we have a pretty good view of what’s basically the fallout from the Big Bang. The nebula was a star that exploded about 10,000 years ago. Nearing the end of his life, he threw off his cloak and continued to play the role of a white dwarf, still emitting his energy. As a result, you can still see the nebula expanding.”

Galactic space disaster tourism has a downside: our sun will also explode in billions of years. So we are looking at a glimpse of our destiny.

binoculars

Nota continues: You can’t see it with the naked eye, but you can with a good binoculars. Although if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you might overlook it. Especially if you’re looking for some kind of star.” Simply put, a nebula is a glow half the size of the Moon. Naota recommends looking for Jupiter first and then looking a little to the left. This is where the Helix Nebula is. Special apps or websites can help you navigate Stargazing to the right location. Good tip too: at 11:30 p.m. you’re exactly in the south and it’s at the highest point above the horizon. “But you can also watch an hour and a half later.”

Only then should there be no hanging clouds. At night from Tuesday to Wednesday it is quite clear and the view is good of starry sky and special nebula. According to meteorologist Yannick Damen of Weeronline, the chances of seeing the nebula well in the coming nights are moderate. “The advantage of fickle weather is that there are always clear spells. But then you have to get lucky. The biggest chance of cutting is in the southeast, but there is also a chance of some rain pulling in.”

Fortunately, the fog could be seen clearly in the following days. Especially if you have a good telescope and camera. But the best thing to do is go to the observatory,” says Nauta.