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Credit & Copyright: Eric Coles &
Martin Pugh
Explanation:
Blue dust clouds and young, energetic stars inhabit
this telescopic vista,
less than 500 light-years away toward the northern boundary of
Corona Australis, the Southern Crown.
The dust clouds effectively block light from
more distant background
stars in the
Milky Way.
But the striking complex of
reflection nebulas cataloged as
NGC 6726, 6727, and IC 4812 produce a characteristic blue color as light
from the region's bright blue stars is
reflected by the cosmic dust.
The dust
also obscures from view stars
still in the process
of formation.
At the left, smaller yellowish nebula NGC 6729
bends
around young variable star
R
Coronae Australis.
Just below it, glowing
arcs and
loops shocked by outflows from
embedded newborn stars are
identified as Herbig-Haro objects.
On the sky this field of view spans about one degree,
corresponding to almost nine
light-years at the estimated
distance of the nearby star forming region.
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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 formation - dust
Publications with words: star formation - dust
See also: