Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas
Explanation:
Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance.
Such is the case toward the far-south
constellation of Chamaeleon.
Normally
too faint to see, dark dust is best known for
blocking visible light from stars and galaxies behind it.
In this four-hour exposure, however,
the dust is seen mostly in light of its own,
with its strong red and near-infrared
colors giving creating a brown hue.
Contrastingly blue, the bright star
Beta Chamaeleontis
is visible just to the right of center, with the dust that surrounds it preferentially
reflecting blue light from its primarily blue-white color.
All of the
pictured stars and dust occur in our own Milky Way Galaxy with -- but one
notable
exception: the white spot just
below Beta Chamaeleontis is the galaxy IC 3104 which lies far in the distance.
Interstellar dust is mostly created in the cool atmospheres of
giant stars
and dispersed into space by stellar light,
stellar winds, and
stellar explosions such as
supernovas.
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.
