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Credit & Copyright: Steven Coates
Explanation:
This
telescopic close-up shows off the otherwise faint emission
nebula IC 410.
It also features two remarkable inhabitants of the cosmic pond
of gas and dust below and right of center,
the tadpoles
of IC 410.
Partly obscured by foreground dust, the nebula itself
surrounds NGC 1893, a young
galactic cluster of stars.
Formed in the interstellar cloud a mere 4 million years ago, the
intensely hot, bright
cluster stars energize the glowing gas.
Composed of denser cooler gas and dust,
the tadpoles are around 10 light-years long and are
likely sites of ongoing star formation.
Sculpted by
winds and radiation from the cluster stars,
their heads are outlined by bright ridges of ionized gas while
their tails trail away from the cluster's central region.
IC 410 lies some 10,000 light-years away,
toward the nebula-rich constellation Auriga.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: emission nebula - star formation
Publications with words: emission nebula - star formation
See also: