|
Credit & Copyright: Alex Rodriguez
Explanation:
Halloween is an astronomy holiday
and spooky shapes always
seem to lurk in planet Earth's night skies.
In fact, near the center of
this telescopic view
toward the constellation Cassiopeia
these swept-back interstellar clouds IC 59 (left) and IC 63
look ghostly on a cosmic scale.
About 600 light-years distant,
the clouds
aren't actually ghosts.
They are slowly disappearing though,
under the influence of
energetic radiation
from hot, luminous star gamma Cas.
The brightest bluish star in the frame,
Gamma Cas is
physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the
nebulae.
Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated by
red H-alpha light emitted as
hydrogen atoms ionized by the hot star's ultraviolet radiation recombine
with electrons.
Farther from the star IC 59 also shows H-alpha emission,
and both nebulae shine with the characteristic blue tint of dust
reflected star light.
The field of view spans about 2 degrees or 20 light-years at the
estimated distance of
the interstellar
apparitions.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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