Astronomy Picture of the Day

   Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured,
                    along with a brief explanation written by a
professional astronomer.

                                                2019 July 28

                                    The North America Nebula in Infrared
    Image Credit & Copyright: NASA, JPL-Caltech, L. Rebull (SSC,
Caltech); Optical Rollover: DSS, D. De
                                                   Martin

   Explanation: The North America Nebula can do what most North Americans
cannot -- form stars. Precisely
   where in the nebula these stars are forming has been mostly obscured by
some of the nebula's thick
   dust that is opaque to visible light. However, a view of the North
America Nebula in infrared light by
   the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope has peered through much of the dust
and uncovered thousands of
   newly formed stars. Rolling your cursor over the above
scientifically-colored infrared image will
   bring up a corresponding optical image of the same region for
comparison. The infrared image neatly
   captures young stars in many stages of formation, from being imbedded in
dense knots of gas and dust,
   to being surrounded by disks and emitted jets, to being clear of their
birth cocoons. The North
   America Nebula (NGC 7000) spans about 50 light years and lies about
1,500 light years away toward the
   constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Still, of all the stars known in the
North America Nebula, which
   massive stars emit the energetic light that gives the ionized red glow
is still debated.

                                  Tomorrow's picture: lightning vs volcano
    
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                      Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
                            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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