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Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks
(Utah Desert Remote Observatories)
Explanation:
What's causing the commotion in the Tadpole Nebula?
Star
formation.
Dusty emission in the
Tadpole Nebula, IC 410,
lies about 12,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of the
Charioteer
(Auriga).
The cloud of glowing gas is over 100 light-years across,
sculpted by
stellar winds and radiation from embedded
open star cluster
NGC 1893.
Formed in the interstellar cloud
a mere
4 million years ago, bright newly formed cluster stars are seen
all around the star-forming nebula.
Notable on the lower-right of the featured image are two relatively dense streamers
of material trailing away from the nebula's central regions.
Potentially sites of ongoing star formation in
IC 410, these
cosmic tadpole
shapes are about 10 light-years long.
The image was processed
highlighting the emission from sulfur (red), hydrogen (green), and oxygen (blue)
gas -- but with the
stars digitally removed.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star formation
Publications with words: star formation
See also: