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Credit & Copyright: WFI,
European Southern Observatory
Explanation:
Hot blue stars, red glowing hydrogen gas, and dark, obscuring dust
clouds are strewn through this dramatic region of
the Milky Way in the southern constellation
of Ara (the Altar).
About 4,000 light-years from Earth, the stars at the left are
young, massive, and energetic.
Their intense
ultraviolet radiation is eating away at the nearby
star forming cloud complex - ionizing the hydrogen gas and producing
the characteristic
red "hydrogen-alpha" glow.
At right, visible within the dark dust nebula,
is small cluster of newborn stars.
This beautiful color picture is a
composite of images made through
blue, green, and hydrogen-alpha filters.
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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 cluster - star formation - emission nebula - star - Milky Way
Publications with words: star cluster - star formation - emission nebula - star - Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2024 March 13 Á The Seagull Nebula
- APOD: 2024 February 21 Á Seagull Nebula over Pinnacles Peak
- NGC 1893 and the Tadpoles of IC 410
- APOD: 2024 January 15 Á Star Cluster IC 348 from Webb
- The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty
- APOD: 2023 December 13 Á Deep Field: The Heart Nebula
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway