|
Credit & Copyright: Mark Killion
Explanation:
The Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed.
IC 5070 (an official designation) is divided from the larger
North America Nebula by a
molecular cloud filled with dark
dust.
The deep featured picture from
Utah,
USA incorporates 25 hours
of exposure and brings out great details of this
filamentary dust.
The
Pelican Nebula
receives much study because it is a particularly active mix of
star formation
and evolving gas clouds.
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 the upper right.
Particularly dense
tentacles of cold gas remain.
Millions of years from now, the
Pelican Nebula,
bounded by dark nebula
LDN 935, might no longer be known as the Pelican,
as the balance and placement of stars and gas
will surely leave something that appears
completely different.
APOD's main NASA site is
moving:
From apod.nasa.gov to
science.nasa.gov/apod
|
January February March April May June July August September |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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: IC 5070 - Pelican Nebula - dust
Publications with words: IC 5070 - Pelican Nebula - dust
See also:
- APOD: 2026 July 22 Á The Corona Australis Cloud and the Chandelier Cluster
- APOD: 2026 July 9 Á The Red Glow of the Cosmic Bat Nebula
- LDN 1622: Dark Nebula in Orion
- NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
- A Dark Seahorse in Cepheus
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
- APOD: 2025 October 29 Á Dust Shapes of the Ghost Nebula