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Credit & Copyright: Long Xin
Explanation:
Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula
(LDN)
1251.
About 1,000 light-years away and drifting above the plane of our
Milky Way galaxy,
LDN 1251 is also less appetizingly known as "The Rotten Fish Nebula."
The dusty molecular cloud
is part of a complex of dark nebulae mapped toward the
Cepheus flare region.
Across the spectrum,
astronomical explorations of the obscuring
interstellar clouds reveal energetic shocks and outflows
associated with newborn stars,
including the telltale reddish glow from scattered
Herbig-Haro
objects hiding in the image.
Distant background galaxies also lurk in the scene,
almost buried behind the dusty expanse.
This alluring view
spans over four full moons on the sky, or 35 light-years at the
estimated distance of LDN 1251.
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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: molecular cloud - star formation
Publications with words: molecular cloud - star formation
See also: