... The missing piece was no cause for concern -- the Moon was only momentarily in the way. ... The Milky Way in Stars and Dust . ... Clouds of glowing hydrogen gas mingle ominously with dark dust lanes in this close-up of IC 1396, an active star forming region some 2,000 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. ... The combined light of the stars of the Milky Way are reflected by this cosmic dust cloud that soars some 300 light-years above the plane of our Galaxy. ...