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 August 30

                            NGC 7129 and NGC 7142
          Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Cannistra (StarryWonders)

   Explanation: This wide-field telescopic image looks toward the
   constellation Cepheus and an intriguing visual pairing of dusty
   reflection nebula NGC 7129 (right) and open star cluster NGC 7142. The
   two appear separated by only half a degree on the sky, but they
   actually lie at quite different distances. In the foreground, dusty
   nebula NGC 7129 is about 3,000 light-years distant, while open cluster
   NGC 7142 is likely over 6,000 light-years away. In fact, pervasive and
   clumpy foreground dust clouds in this region redden the light from NGC
   7142, complicating astronomical explorations of the cluster. Still, NGC
   7142 is thought to be an older open star cluster, while the bright
   stars embedded in NGC 7129 are perhaps a few million years young. The
   telltale reddish crescent shapes around NGC 7129 are associated with
   energetic jets streaming away from newborn stars.

                     Tomorrow's picture: Spitzer's Orion
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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