|
Explanation: Ominously foreshadowing events to come, a dark cloud of obscuring dust stands out against a luminous star field in the Milky Way. Cataloged as Feitzinger and Stuwe object "1-457" this fuliginous interstellar nebula is relatively close - possibly only 1,000 light-years distant. Near its core it is dense enough to block almost all of the light from the numerous, more distant stars visible toward the galactic center region. In addition to dust grains, dark nebulae which abound in the plane of our Galaxy are likely to contain interstellar gas and represent potential raw material for future star formation.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: dark cloud - dust cloud - dark - Milky Way
Publications with words: dark cloud - dust cloud - dark - Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 18 Á Stars and Dust in the Pacman Nebula
- APOD: 2024 November 5 Á Milky Way over Easter Island
- APOD: 2024 September 24 Á NGC 6727: The Rampaging Baboon Nebula
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 29 Á Milky Way over Uluru
- APOD: 2024 May 29 Á Stairway to the Milky Way