M24: A Sagittarius Starscape
Explanation:
Many vast
star fields in the
plane of our
Milky Way Galaxy are rich in clouds of
dust, and gas.
First and foremost, visible in the
above picture are millions of stars,
many of which are similar to our
Sun.
Next huge filaments of
dark interstellar dust
run across the image and block the light from millions
of more stars yet further across
our Galaxy.
The bright red region on the left is the
Omega Nebula, an
emission nebula of mostly hot
hydrogen gas also known as
M17.
A small bright grouping of stars near the image center is the
open cluster
M18, while the long bright streak of stars just right of center is
M24.
On the far right of the image is the picturesque red
emission nebula IC 1283 flanked by two blue
reflection nebulas
NGC 6589 and
NGC 6590.
These objects are visible with a small
telescope toward the
constellation of
Sagittarius.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
