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Credit & Copyright: Fabian Neyer
Explanation:
Beverly Lynds
Dark Nebula 183 lies a mere 325 light-years away,
drifting high above the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Obscuring the starlight behind it
when viewed at optical
wavelengths, the dark, dusty molecular cloud itself
seems starless.
But far infrared explorations reveal dense clumps within,
likely stars in the
early stages of formation as
enhanced regions of the cloud undergo gravitational collapse.
One of the closest molecular clouds, it is seen toward the
constellation
Serpens Caput.
This sharp cosmic cloud portrait spans about half a degree on the sky.
That's about 3 light-years at the estimated distance of
Lynds
Dark Nebula 183.
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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 nebula
Publications with words: dark nebula
See also: