Credit & Copyright: Johan Bogaerts
Explanation:
The North America nebula
on the sky can do what the
North America continent
on Earth cannot -- form stars.
Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent,
the bright part that appears as Central America and
Mexico
is actually a hot bed of gas, dust, and newly formed stars known as the
Cygnus Wall.
The featured image
shows the star forming wall lit and eroded by
bright young stars, and
partly
hidden by the dark
dust they have created.
The part of the North America nebula
(NGC 7000) shown spans about 15
light years
and lies about 1,500 light years away toward the
constellation
of the Swan
(Cygnus).
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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: Cygnus Wall - star formation
Publications with words: Cygnus Wall - star formation
See also:
- NGC 1893 and the Tadpoles of IC 410
- Star Factory Messier 17
- APOD: 2023 August 28 Á Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula
- APOD: 2023 July 10 Á Stars, Dust and Nebula in NGC 6559
- NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus
- APOD: 2023 March 21 Á Dark Nebulae and Star Formation in Taurus
- The Tadpole Nebula in Gas and Dust