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.

2022 August 15
The featured image shows the Cygnus Wall of star formation,
a jagged line of bright gas and dark dust set in blue background
and near very dark expanse of dark dust.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

The Cygnus Wall of Star Formation
Image Credit & Copyright: Johan Bogaerts

Explanation: The North America nebula on the sky can do what the North America continent on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent, the bright part that appears as Central America and Mexico is actually a hot bed of gas, dust, and newly formed stars known as the Cygnus Wall. The featured image shows the star forming wall lit and eroded by bright young stars, and partly hidden by the dark dust they have created. The part of the North America nebula (NGC 7000) shown spans about 15 light years and lies about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).

Tomorrow's picture: meteor wind


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