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Credit & Copyright: David Jenkins
Explanation:
Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars.
Cataloged as
IC 5146, the beautiful
nebula is nearly 15
light-years wide.
Climbing high in
northern summer night skies,
it's located some 4,000 light years away toward the constellation Cygnus
the Swan.
Like other star forming regions, it stands out
in red, glowing, hydrogen gas
excited by young, hot stars,
and dust-reflected starlight
at the edge of an otherwise invisible
molecular cloud.
In fact, the bright star found near the center of this nebula is likely
only a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as it
clears
out
a cavity in the molecular
cloud's star forming dust and gas.
A 29 hour long integration with a small telescope from Ayr, Ontario,
Canada resulted in this
exceptionally deep color
view
tracing tantalizing features within and surrounding the dusty
stellar
nursery.
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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: star formation - molecular cloud
Publications with words: star formation - molecular cloud
See also: