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Coordinates: Sky map 12h 52m 19s, −62° 25′ 28″
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{{Short description|Dark nebula in the constellation Crux}}
{{Infobox nebula
{{Infobox nebula
| image = [[image:Part of the Coalsack Nebula.jpg|300px]]
| image = [[image:Part of the Coalsack Nebula.jpg|300px]]
| caption=The Coalsack Nebula taken by the Wide Field Imager on the [[MPG/ESO telescope|MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope]]<ref>{{cite web|title=A Cosmic Sackful of Black Coal|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1539/|accessdate=15 October 2015}}</ref>
| caption=The Coalsack Nebula taken by the Wide Field Imager on the [[MPG/ESO telescope|MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope]]<ref>{{cite web|title=A Cosmic Sackful of Black Coal|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1539/|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>
| name = Coalsack Nebula
| name = Coalsack Nebula
| type = Dark
| type = Dark
Line 16: Line 17:
| names = [[Caldwell catalogue|Caldwell]] 99
| names = [[Caldwell catalogue|Caldwell]] 99
}}
}}
[[File:UntitledCoalSackAutoRGB extra-1-2.jpg|thumb|Coal Sack Nebula]]
The '''Coalsack Nebula''' ('''Southern Coalsack''', or simply the '''Coalsack''')<ref name="simbad">{{cite simbad | title=Coalsack Nebula | url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=coalsack| access-date=2018-09-30 }}</ref> is the most prominent [[dark nebula]] in the skies, being easily visible to the [[naked eye]] as a dark patch obscuring a brief section of [[Milky Way]] stars as they cross their southernmost region of the sky, east of [[Acrux]] (Alpha Crucis) which is the bright, southern pointer star of the southern cross. It dominates and overspills the southeast corner of what is considered the extent of the [[constellation]] [[Crux]] at a little less than twice the distance of Acrux, {{convert|180|pc|ly}} away from [[Earth]].<ref name="Franco2000">{{cite journal
The '''Coalsack Nebula''' ('''Southern Coalsack''', or simply ''the'' '''Coalsack''')<ref name="simbad">{{cite simbad | title=Coalsack Nebula | url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=coalsack| access-date=2018-09-30 }}</ref> is a [[dark nebula]], which is visible to the [[naked eye]] as a dark patch obscuring part of the [[Milky Way]] east of [[Acrux]] (Alpha Crucis) in the constellation of [[Crux (constellation)|Crux]].<ref name="Franco2000">{{cite journal
|last1=Franco
|last1=Franco
|first1=G.P.A.
|first1=G.P.A.
Line 30: Line 32:


==General information==
==General information==
Historically any other [[dark nebula|dark cloud]] in the [[night sky]] was called coalsack. The Coalsack Nebula was juxtaposed in 1899 by [[Richard Hinckley Allen]] through naming the [[Northern Coalsack Nebula]].<ref name="OMeara 2012">{{cite web | last=O'Meara | first=Stephen James | title=Where is the Northern Coalsack? | website=Astronomy.com | date=2012-04-23 | url=https://astronomy.com/magazine/stephen-omeara/2012/04/where-is-the-northern-coalsack | access-date=2023-02-10}}</ref>
⚫
The Coalsack Nebula covers nearly 7[[degree (angle)|°]] by 5° and overlaps somewhat into the neighbor constellations [[Centaurus]] and [[Musca]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Darling|first=David J. |title=The universal book of astronomy: from the Andromeda Galaxy to the zone of avoidance|publisher=Wiley|location=Hoboken, New Jersey|date=2004|pages=351|isbn=0471265691}}</ref> The first observation was reported by [[Vicente Yáñez Pinzón]] in 1499.<ref name="ESO2009">{{cite web|title=The Coalsack and the Southern Cross|url=https://www.eso.org/public/images/b06/|date=3 December 2009|work=[[ESO]] |accessdate=1 October 2018 }}</ref> It was named "''il Canopo fosco''" (the dark [[Canopus]]) by [[Amerigo Vespucci]] and was also called "''Macula Magellani''" (Magellan's Spot) or "''Black Magellanic Cloud''" in opposition to the [[Magellanic Clouds]].<ref name="ESO2009"/>


⚫
The Coalsack Nebula covers nearly 7[[degree (angle)|°]] by 5° and extends into the neighboring constellations [[Centaurus]] and [[Musca]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Darling|first=David J. |title=The universal book of astronomy: from the Andromeda Galaxy to the zone of avoidance|publisher=Wiley|location=Hoboken, New Jersey|date=2004|pages=351|isbn=0471265691}}</ref> The first observation was reported by [[Vicente Yáñez Pinzón]] in 1499.<ref name="ESO2009">{{cite web|title=The Coalsack and the Southern Cross|url=https://www.eso.org/public/images/b06/|date=3 December 2009|work=[[ESO]] |access-date=1 October 2018 }}</ref> It was named "''il Canopo fosco''" (the dark [[Canopus]]) by [[Amerigo Vespucci]] and was also called "''Macula Magellani''" (Magellan's Spot) or "''Black Magellanic Cloud''" in opposition to the [[Magellanic Clouds]].<ref name="ESO2009"/>
The Coalsack is omitted in most of today's standard catalogs on the Milky Way such as the [[New General Catalogue]] and its only mainstream identification number is in the somewhat specialist [[Caldwell catalogue]], in which it is '''C99'''.


[[Image:Emu public.jpg|frame| A depiction of the ''[[Australian Aboriginal astronomy#Emu in the sky|emu in the sky]]'', which is an Australian Aboriginal constellation consisting of dark clouds rather than of stars. The European constellation on the right is [[Crux]], or the Southern Cross, and on the left is [[Scorpius]]. The head of the emu is the Coalsack.]]
[[Image:Emu public.jpg|frame| A depiction of the ''[[Australian Aboriginal astronomy#Emu in the sky|emu in the sky]]'' known as weitj. The weitj in the sky is male, and you can see them guarding their eggs. During Makuru (the coldest and wettest time of the year, that falls across June and July), which is an Australian Aboriginal constellation consisting of dark clouds rather than of stars. The European constellation on the right is [[Crux]], or the Southern Cross, and on the left is [[Scorpius]]. The head of the emu is the Coalsack.]]


The Coalsack in [[Australian Aboriginal astronomy]] forms the head of the ''[[Australian Aboriginal astronomy#Emu in the sky|emu in the sky]]'' in several [[Australian Aboriginal culture|Aboriginal cultures]]. Amongst the [[Wardaman people]], it is said to be the head and shoulders of a ''law-man'' watching the people to ensure they do not break traditional law. According to a legend reported by W.&nbsp;E. Harney, this being is called ''Utdjungon'' and only adherence to the tribal law by surviving tribe members could prevent him from destroying the world with a fiery star.<ref>Songs of the Songmen, 28–30.</ref> There is also a reference by Gaiarbau (1880) regarding the coalsacks replicating [[Bora (Australian)|bora]] rings on Earth. These astronomical sites allowed the spirits to continue ceremony similar to their human counterparts on Earth. As bora grounds are generally located on the compass points north/south, the southern coal sack indicates the initiation/ceremonial ring.
In [[Australian Aboriginal astronomy]], the Coalsack forms the head of the ''[[Australian Aboriginal astronomy#Emu in the sky|emu in the sky]]'' in several [[Australian Aboriginal culture|Aboriginal cultures]]. Amongst the [[Wardaman people]], it is said to be the head and shoulders of a ''law-man'' watching the people to ensure they do not break traditional law. According to a legend reported by W.&nbsp;E. Harney, this being is called ''Utdjungon'' and only adherence to the tribal law by surviving tribe members could prevent him from destroying the world with a fiery star.<ref>Songs of the Songmen, 28–30.</ref> There is also a reference by Gaiarbau (1880) regarding the coalsacks replicating [[Bora (Australian)|bora]] rings on Earth. These astronomical sites allowed the spirits to continue ceremony similar to their human counterparts on Earth. As bora grounds are generally located on the compass points north–south, the southern coal sack indicates the ceremonial ring.


In [[Inca Empire|Inca]] astronomy this nebula was called ''Yutu'', meaning ''a partridge-like southern bird''<ref>{{cite book|author=James B. Kaler|title=The Hundred Greatest Stars|url=https://books.google.com/?id=Aq24O7B4ehoC|year=2002|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|location=New York|isbn=978-0-387-95436-3|page=5}}</ref> or [[Tinamou]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Archaeoastronomy in the New World : American primitive astronomy : proceedings of an international conference held at Oxford University, September, 1981|year=2010|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0521125475|editor=A. F. Aveni}}</ref>
In [[Inca Empire|Inca]] astronomy this nebula was called ''Yutu'', after a partridge-like South American bird,<ref>{{cite book|author=James B. Kaler|title=The Hundred Greatest Stars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aq24O7B4ehoC|year=2002|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|location=New York|isbn=978-0-387-95436-3|page=5}}</ref> or [[Tinamou]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Archaeoastronomy in the New World : American primitive astronomy : proceedings of an international conference held at Oxford University, September, 1981|year=2010|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0521125475|editor=A. F. Aveni}}</ref>


==In fiction==
== In Popular Culture ==
The Coalsack Nebula and the galactic area surrounding it played a large role in [[Jerry Pournelle]]'s [[CoDominium]] Universe, particularly [[The Mote in God's Eye]] and the sequel [[The Gripping Hand]], both co-authored with [[Larry Niven]].
[[File:An Emu in the Sky over Paranal.jpg|thumb|The dark Coalsack Nebula can be seen as an obscuring smudge across the [[Milky Way]].<ref>{{cite web|title=An Emu in the Sky over Paranal|url=http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1439a/|website=www.eso.org|publisher=[[European Southern Observatory]]|accessdate=1 October 2014}}</ref>]]
In these novels, a human-colonized system, New Caledonia, is on the opposite side of the Coalsack from Earth. Set against the Coalsack is a red supergiant, and between the supergiant and New Caledonia is a yellow F6 star, known as "The Mote in God's Eye".
The Coalsack is mentioned in the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episodes "[[The Immunity Syndrome (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Immunity Syndrome]]" and "[[Let That Be Your Last Battlefield]]", as well as ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' by Arthur C. Clarke.

In the [[Andre Norton bibliography|Solar Queen series]] by [[Andre Norton]], several characters swear "...by the Coalsack's Ripcord!"<ref>https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16921/16921-h/16921-h.htm</ref>

The Coalsack figures prominently in the [[Larry Niven]] and [[Jerry Pournelle]]'s [[science fiction]] [[novel]] ''[[The Mote in God's Eye]]'' and its sequels, ''[[The Gripping Hand]]'' and ''[[Outies]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |isbn = 978-0615434148|title = Outies|last1 = Pournelle|first1 = Jennifer R.|date = 30 March 2011}}</ref>

Also, [[Henry De Vere Stacpoole]] described the Coalsack in his novel ''[[The Blue Lagoon (novel)|The Blue Lagoon]]'' (1908), as Lestrange observes it from the deck of the ''Northumberland'', "In the Milky Way, near the Southern Cross, occurs a terrible circular abyss, the Coal Sack. So sharply defined is it, so suggestive of a void and bottomless cavern, that the contemplation of it afflicts the imaginative mind with vertigo. To the naked eye it is as black and dismal as death, but the smallest telescope reveals it beautiful and populous with stars. Lestrange's eyes travelled from this mystery to the burning cross, and …"<ref>[[Henry De Vere Stacpoole|H. De Vere Stacpoole]]: ‘[[The Blue Lagoon (novel)|The Blue Lagoon]]’, London: Adelphi Terrace, 1908, T. Fisher Unwin Ltd., quote taken from 28th Impression (1923), p. 12, from pdf p. 28 at https://archive.org/details/bluelagoonromanc00stacrich.</ref>

The Coalsack is mentioned in the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "[[Hell Is Other Robots]]".<ref>http://theinfosphere.org/Hell_Is_Other_Robots</ref>

In the film ''[[Night on the Galactic Railroad]]'', the journey for the character Campanella ends with him going to the Coalsack.

In the film ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick]]'', the character Imam convinces Riddick to help his people against the Necromongers and says, "The Coalsack planets are gone."<ref>http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/c/chronicles-of-riddick-script-transcript.html</ref>

In Brian J. Clarke's [[novella]] ''The Expediter'', a world of mysterious towers—and the aliens studying them—are found "behind the Coalsack".

In the game [[Elite Dangerous]] players can visit the Coalsack Nebula.

In ''[[Edmond Hamilton#The Star Kings|The Star Kings]]'' by [[Edmond Hamilton]] Coalsack is the home of The League of Dark Worlds, most powerful military dictatorship in the Galaxy.<ref name="Hamilton1949">{{cite book
|title=The Star King
|year=1949
|author=Hamilton, Edmond
|isbn=9780575133167
|url=https://books.google.com/?id=LQ3GAAAAQBAJ&q=League+of+Dark+Worlds}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Coalsack and Dark Doodad Dark Nebulae.jpg|The Coalsack Nebula can be seen as the large dark region near the top of the photo
</gallery>


== References ==
== References ==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{commonscat}}
* [http://www.starrynightphotos.com/southern_sky/coal_sack.htm Starry Night Photography: Coalsack Dark Nebula]
* [http://www.starrynightphotos.com/southern_sky/coal_sack.htm Starry Night Photography: Coalsack Dark Nebula]
* [http://www.starrynightphotos.com/southern_sky/emu.htm Starry Night Photography: The Emu]
* [http://www.starrynightphotos.com/southern_sky/emu.htm Starry Night Photography: The Emu]
* [http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NAME+COAL+SACK&submit=SIMBAD+search SIMBAD: Coalsack Nebula]
* [http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NAME+COAL+SACK&submit=SIMBAD+search SIMBAD: Coalsack Nebula]



{{sky|12|52|19|-|62|25|28|600}}
{{sky|12|52|19|-|62|25|28|600}}
{{Caldwell catalogue}}{{Crux}}
{{Caldwell catalogue}}{{Crux}}


{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Crux (constellation)]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coalsack Nebula}}
⚫
[[Category:Crux]]
[[Category:Dark nebulae]]
[[Category:Dark nebulae]]
[[Category:Caldwell objects|099b]]
[[Category:Caldwell objects|099b]]

Latest revision as of 00:08, 27 July 2024

Coalsack Nebula
Dark nebula
The Coalsack Nebula taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope[1]
Observation data: J2000.0 epoch
Right ascension12h 50m
Declination−62° 30′
Distance180[2] pc
Apparent magnitude (V)–
Apparent dimensions (V)7° × 5°
ConstellationCrux
Physical characteristics
Radius30–35 ly
Absolute magnitude (V)–
Notable features–
DesignationsCaldwell 99
See also: Lists of nebulae
Coal Sack Nebula

The Coalsack Nebula (Southern Coalsack, or simply the Coalsack)[3] is a dark nebula, which is visible to the naked eye as a dark patch obscuring part of the Milky Way east of Acrux (Alpha Crucis) in the constellation of Crux.[2]

General information

[edit]

Historically any other dark cloud in the night sky was called coalsack. The Coalsack Nebula was juxtaposed in 1899 by Richard Hinckley Allen through naming the Northern Coalsack Nebula.[4]

The Coalsack Nebula covers nearly 7° by 5° and extends into the neighboring constellations Centaurus and Musca.[5] The first observation was reported by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1499.[6] It was named "il Canopo fosco" (the dark Canopus) by Amerigo Vespucci and was also called "Macula Magellani" (Magellan's Spot) or "Black Magellanic Cloud" in opposition to the Magellanic Clouds.[6]

A depiction of the emu in the sky known as weitj. The weitj in the sky is male, and you can see them guarding their eggs. During Makuru (the coldest and wettest time of the year, that falls across June and July), which is an Australian Aboriginal constellation consisting of dark clouds rather than of stars. The European constellation on the right is Crux, or the Southern Cross, and on the left is Scorpius. The head of the emu is the Coalsack.

In Australian Aboriginal astronomy, the Coalsack forms the head of the emu in the sky in several Aboriginal cultures. Amongst the Wardaman people, it is said to be the head and shoulders of a law-man watching the people to ensure they do not break traditional law. According to a legend reported by W. E. Harney, this being is called Utdjungon and only adherence to the tribal law by surviving tribe members could prevent him from destroying the world with a fiery star.[7] There is also a reference by Gaiarbau (1880) regarding the coalsacks replicating bora rings on Earth. These astronomical sites allowed the spirits to continue ceremony similar to their human counterparts on Earth. As bora grounds are generally located on the compass points north–south, the southern coal sack indicates the ceremonial ring.

In Inca astronomy this nebula was called Yutu, after a partridge-like South American bird,[8] or Tinamou.[9]

[edit]

The Coalsack Nebula and the galactic area surrounding it played a large role in Jerry Pournelle's CoDominium Universe, particularly The Mote in God's Eye and the sequel The Gripping Hand, both co-authored with Larry Niven. In these novels, a human-colonized system, New Caledonia, is on the opposite side of the Coalsack from Earth. Set against the Coalsack is a red supergiant, and between the supergiant and New Caledonia is a yellow F6 star, known as "The Mote in God's Eye".

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "A Cosmic Sackful of Black Coal". Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Franco, G.P.A. (2000). "Interstellar Na I D lines towards the Southern Coalsack". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 315 (3): 611–621. Bibcode:2000MNRAS.315..611F. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03434.x.
  3. ^ "Coalsack Nebula". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  4. ^ O'Meara, Stephen James (2012-04-23). "Where is the Northern Coalsack?". Astronomy.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  5. ^ Darling, David J. (2004). The universal book of astronomy: from the Andromeda Galaxy to the zone of avoidance. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. 351. ISBN 0471265691.
  6. ^ a b "The Coalsack and the Southern Cross". ESO. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. ^ Songs of the Songmen, 28–30.
  8. ^ James B. Kaler (2002). The Hundred Greatest Stars. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-387-95436-3.
  9. ^ A. F. Aveni, ed. (2010). Archaeoastronomy in the New World : American primitive astronomy : proceedings of an international conference held at Oxford University, September, 1981. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521125475.
[edit]
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