APOD
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.
The North America Nebula
Explanation: Here's a familiar shape in an unfamiliar location! This emission nebula is famous partly because it resembles Earth 's North American Continent . To the right of the North America Nebula is a less luminous Pelican Nebula. Let's be grateful that pelicans aren't really that large! The two emission nebula are located about 1500 light years away and are separated by a dark absorption cloud . The nebulae can be seen without a telescope from a dark location. Look for a small nebular patch north-east of Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus . It is still unknown which star or stars ionize the red-glowing hydrogen gas .
| Date | June 6, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit and Copyright: Dominique Dierick and Dirk De la Marche |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |