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 25
                                              Cygnus Skyscape
                                  Image Credit & Copyright: Alistair Symon

   Explanation: In brush strokes of interstellar dust and glowing hydrogen
gas, this beautiful skyscape
   is painted across the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy near the northern
end of the Great Rift and the
   constellation Cygnus the Swan. Composed with three different telescopes
and about 90 hours of image
   data the widefield mosaic spans an impressive 24 degrees across the sky.
Alpha star of Cygnus, bright,
   hot, supergiant Deneb lies near top center. Crowded with stars and
luminous gas clouds Cygnus is also
   home to the dark, obscuring Northern Coal Sack Nebula, extending from
Deneb toward the center of the
   view. The reddish glow of star forming regions NGC 7000, the North
America Nebula and IC 5070, the
   Pelican Nebula, are just left of Deneb. The Veil Nebula is a standout
below and left of center. A
   supernova remnant, the Veil is some 1,400 light years away, but many
other nebulae and star clusters
   are identifiable throughout the cosmic scene. Of course, Deneb itself is
also known to northern
   hemisphere skygazers for its place in two asterisms -- marking the top
of the Northern Cross and a
   vertex of the Summer Triangle.

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