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Credit & Copyright: Anthony Quintile
Explanation:
This colorful skyscape
spans about four full moons across nebula rich
starfields along the plane of
our Milky Way Galaxy in the royal northern constellation
Cepheus.
Near the edge of the region's massive molecular cloud some 2,400
light-years away, bright reddish emission region
Sharpless
(Sh) 155 is at the center of the frame, also known as the
Cave Nebula.
About 10 light-years across the cosmic cave's bright walls of
gas are ionized by ultraviolet light from the hot young stars around it.
Dusty reflection nebulae,
like vdB
155 to the right, and dense obscuring clouds of dust also abound on the
interstellar canvas.
Astronomical
explorations have
revealed other
dramatic
signs of star formation,
including the bright reddish fleck of
Herbig-Haro
(HH) 168.
Below and right of center, the Herbig-Haro object emission is
generated by energetic jets from a
newborn star.
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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: emission nebula - reflection nebula
Publications with words: emission nebula - reflection nebula
See also: