Credit & Copyright: Davide Broise
Explanation:
Spanning light-years, this
suggestive
shape known as the Seahorse Nebula
floats in silhouette against a rich, luminous background of stars.
Seen toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus,
the dusty, dark nebula is part of a Milky Way
molecular cloud some 1,200 light-years distant.
It is also listed as Barnard 150 (B150), one of 182
dark markings of the sky
cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer
E. E.
Barnard.
Packs of low mass stars are forming
within,
but their collapsing cores are only visible at long
infrared
wavelengths.
Still, the colorful Milky Way stars of Cepheus add to this stunning
galactic
skyscape.
Growing Gallery:
This week's supermoon eclipse
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
|
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: dust - molecular cloud
Publications with words: dust - molecular cloud
See also: