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.

                                 2020 July 3

                           Lynds Dark Nebula 1251
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Ara Jerahian

   Explanation: Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1251. About
   1,000 light-years away and drifting above the plane of our Milky Way
   galaxy, the dusty molecular cloud is part of a complex of dark nebulae
   mapped toward the Cepheus flare region. Across the spectrum,
   astronomical explorations of the obscuring interstellar clouds reveal
   energetic shocks and outflows associated with newborn stars, including
   the telltale reddish glow from scattered Herbig-Haro objects seen in
   this sharp image. Distant background galaxies also lurk on the scene,
   buried behind the dusty expanse. This alluring view imaged with a
   backyard telescope and broadband filters spans about two full moons on
   the sky, or 17 light-years at the estimated distance of LDN 1251.

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