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Credit & Copyright: Jack Groves
Explanation:
This cosmic
expanse
of dust, gas, and stars covers some 6 degrees
on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus.
At upper left in
the gorgeous skyscape
is the intriguing young star cluster
IC
348 and
neighboring Flying Ghost Nebula
with clouds of obscuring interstellar dust cataloged
as Barnard 3 and 4.
At right, another active star forming
region NGC 1333 is
connected by dark and dusty tendrils on the outskirts
of the giant
Perseus
Molecular Cloud, about 850 light-years away.
Other dusty nebulae are scattered around the field of view,
along with the faint
reddish glow of hydrogen gas.
In fact, the cosmic dust
tends to hide the newly formed stars
and young stellar objects or protostars from
prying optical telescopes.
Collapsing due to
self-gravity, the
protostars
form
from the dense cores
embedded
in the molecular cloud.
At the molecular cloud's
estimated distance, this field
of view would span over 90 light-years.
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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: reflection nebula - dark nebula
Publications with words: reflection nebula - dark nebula
See also: