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Credit & Copyright: Michael Sidonio
Explanation:
This broad expanse of glowing gas and dust presents
a bird-like visage to astronomers
from planet Earth,
suggesting its popular moniker -
The Seagull Nebula.
This portrait
of the cosmic bird covers a 1.6 degree wide swath
across the plane of the Milky Way,
near
the direction of Sirius, alpha
star of the constellation Canis Major.
Of course, the region includes objects with other
catalog
designations: notably
NGC 2327,
a compact, dusty emission region
with an embedded massive star that forms the bird's head
(aka the Parrot Nebula, above center).
IC 2177
forms the sweeping arc of the seagull's wings.
Dominated by the
reddish glow of atomic hydrogen,
the complex of gas and dust clouds with bright
young stars spans over 100 light-years at an estimated
3,800 light-year distance.
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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 - hydrogen - dust cloud - gas
Publications with words: emission nebula - hydrogen - dust cloud - gas
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 17 Á Near to the Heart Nebula
- The Elephant s Trunk in Cepheus
- APOD: 2024 November 18 Á Stars and Dust in the Pacman Nebula
- Phantoms in Cassiopeia
- APOD: 2024 September 24 Á NGC 6727: The Rampaging Baboon Nebula
- APOD: 2024 August 28 Á Tulip Nebula and Black Hole Cygnus X 1
- A Sagittarius Triplet