A busy starfield is shown which an elongated brown nebula running diagonally from the lower left to the upper right. A bright blue star and a star cluster appear above the nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
画面中是一片繁忙的星空，一团细长的棕色星云从左下角斜向右上方。星云上方出现一颗明亮的蓝色恒星和一个星团。有关更多详细信息，请参阅说明。
2023年11月27日 LBN 86: The Eagle Ray Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Vikas Chander Explanation: This eagle ray glides across a cosmic sea. Officially cataloged as SH2-63 and LBN 86, the dark nebula is composed of gas and dust that just happens to appear shaped like a common ocean fish. The interstellar dust nebula appears light brown as it blocks and reddens visible light emitted behind it. Dark nebulas glow primarily in infrared light, but also reflect visible light from surrounding stars. The dust in dark nebulas is usually sub-millimeter chunks of carbon, silicon, and oxygen, frequently coated with frozen carbon monoxide and nitrogen. Dark nebulas are also known as molecular clouds because they also contain relatively high amounts of molecular hydrogen and larger molecules. Previously…
2023年1月25日 LDN 1622: The Boogeyman Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Joshua Carter Explanation: To some, the dark shape looks like a mythical boogeyman. Scientifically, Lynds’ Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible in long telescopic exposures of the region. In contrast, the brighter reflection nebula vdB 62 is more easily seen just above and to the right of center in the featured image. LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close on the sky to Barnard’s Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword of Orion. With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN 1622 is thought to lie at a similar distance, perhaps…
2020年11月22日 Dark Molecular Cloud Barnard 68 Image Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO Explanation: Where did all the stars go? What used to be considered a hole in the sky is now known to astronomers as a dark molecular cloud. Here, a high concentration of dust and molecular gas absorb practically all the visible light emitted from background stars. The eerily dark surroundings help make the interiors of molecular clouds some of the coldest and most isolated places in the universe. One of the most notable of these dark absorption nebulae is a cloud toward the constellation Ophiuchus known as Barnard 68, pictured here. That no stars are visible in the center indicates that Barnard 68 is relatively nearby, with measurements placing it about…
