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Credit & Copyright: Ignacio
Diaz Bobillo
Explanation:
In this celestial
still life
composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula
NGC 2170
shines left of image center.
Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined
by other bluish reflection nebulae, a
red emission region, many dark
absorption nebulae,
and a backdrop of
colorful stars.
Like the common household items
still life painters
often choose for their subjects, these clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars
are also commonly found in this setting -
a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation
Monoceros.
The giant
molecular
cloud,
Mon R2,
is impressively close,
estimated
to be only 2,400
light-years or so away.
At that distance, this
canvas would be over 40 light-years across.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: molecular cloud
Publications with words: molecular cloud
See also: