马头星云

马头星云

ByNASA中文

2019 December 17 The Horsehead Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson & Martin Pugh, SSRO, PROMPT, CTIO, NSF Explanation: Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud by chance has assumed this recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is some 1,500 light-years distant, embedded in the vast Orion cloud complex. About five light-years “tall”, the dark cloud is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is visible only because its obscuring dust is silhouetted against the glowing red emission nebula IC 434. Stars are forming within the dark cloud. Contrasting blue reflection nebula NGC 2023, surrounding a hot, young star, is at the lower left of the full image. The featured gorgeous color image combines both narrowband and broadband images recorded…

仙王座内黑暗的海马星云

仙王座内黑暗的海马星云

ByGotthew

2019 October 24 Dark Seahorse in Cepheus Image Credit & Copyright: Sergio Kaminsky Explanation: Light-years across, this suggestive shape known as the Seahorse Nebula appears in silhouette against a rich, luminous background of stars. Seen toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus, the dusty, obscuring clouds are 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 from collapsing cores only visible at long infrared wavelengths. Still, colorful stars in Cepheus add to the pretty, galactic skyscape. 仙王座内黑暗的海马星云 影像来源与版权: Sergio Kaminsky 说明：这个跨越数光年、具有暗示性外形结构的天体被称为海马星云，在繁星点点的明亮背景衬托下呈现出黑暗的轮廓。这个满是尘埃的模糊星云位于北天仙王座方向，是距离约我们1200光年远的银河系分子云的一部分。它的编录号为巴纳德150 （B150），是天文学家巴纳德在20世纪初编录的182个暗星云之一。大量的低质量恒星正在坍缩的星核中形成，这仅在长波红外波段下才能看到。此外，仙王座内五彩缤纷的恒星为这片美丽的银河星空增添了色彩。

船底座星云的分子云

船底座星云的分子云

ByNASA中文

2019 October 2 Molecular Clouds in the Carina Nebula Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Explanation: They are not alive — but they are dying. The unusual forms found in the Carina nebula, a few of which are featured here, might best be described as evaporating. Energetic light and winds from nearby stars are breaking apart the dark dust grains that make the iconic forms opaque. Ironically the figures, otherwise known as dark molecular clouds or bright rimmed globules, frequently create in their midst the very stars that later destroy them. The floating space structures pictured here by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope span a few light months. The Great Nebula in Carina itself spans about 30 light years, lies about 7,500 light years away, and…

鹈鹕星云的云气、尘埃与恒星

鹈鹕星云的云气、尘埃与恒星

ByNASA中文

2019 September 25 The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars Image Credit & Copyright: Yannick Akar Explanation: The Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed. IC 5070, the official designation, is divided from the larger North America Nebula by a molecular cloud filled with dark dust. The Pelican, however, receives much study because it is a particularly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. The featured picture was produced in three specific colors — light emitted by sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen — that can help us to better understand these interactions. The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the cold gas to hot gas, with the advancing boundary between the two, known as an ionization front, visible in bright orange on…

蝘蜓座II暗星云

蝘蜓座II暗星云

ByNASA中文

Chamaeleon II Dark Cloud Image Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman Explanation: A small constellation hiding near the south celestial pole, The Chamaeleon boasts no bright stars. Stars are forming within its constellation boundaries though, in a complex of dark, dusty molecular clouds. Some 500 light-years distant, the Chamaeleon II dark nebula inhabits this view where the cosmic dust clouds standout mostly in silhouette against the starry southern sky. The telescopic frame is about the angular size of a Full Moon and so spans about 5 light-years at the dark cloud’s estimated distance. Scattered near center a telltale reddish glow from identified Herbig-Haro objects is seen in the sharp image, jets of shocked glowing gas emanating from recently formed stars. 蝘蜓座II暗星云 影像提供与版权: Don Goldman 说明: 蝘蜓座是南天极附近，一个里头没有亮星的小星座。不过，这个星座里的黝黑尘埃分子云复合体，仍不停的在形成恒星。在这幅影像里，距离约500光年远的蝘蜓座II暗分子云，之所以会以剪影之姿现踪，是因为有南天的繁星为衬托。这幅张角与满月相当的望远镜影像，依这团暗星云的估计距离来换算，大约涵盖了5光年的区域。在这幅清晰影像中心附近，带着特征泛红辉光的物体，是因刚诞生恒星发出的喷流，冲撞激震周围的云气发光而形成的赫比格-哈罗天体。