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Credit & Copyright: Stephen Leshin
Explanation:
Spooky shapes seem to haunt
this starry expanse,
drifting through the night in the royal constellation
Cepheus.
Of course, the shapes are cosmic dust clouds faintly visible
in dimly reflected starlight.
Far from your own
neighborhood on planet Earth, they
lurk at the edge of the
Cepheus Flare
molecular cloud complex some 1,200 light-years away.
Over 2 light-years across the ghostly nebula known as
vdB 141
or Sh2-136
is near the center of the field.
The core of the dark cloud on the right is collapsing and is
likely a binary star system in the
early stages of formation.
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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: molecular cloud - star formation
Publications with words: molecular cloud - star formation
See also:
- APOD: 2025 June 23 Á W5: Pillars of Star Formation
- APOD: 2025 April 28 Á Gum 37 and the Southern Tadpoles
- APOD: 2025 March 26 Á Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula
- The Protostars within Lynds 483
- Stardust in the Perseus Molecular Cloud
- Helping Hand in Cassiopeia
- APOD: 2024 October 22 Á M16: Pillars of Star Creation