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 Snake Nebula in Ophiuchus
Explanation: What slithers there? The dark winding lanes visible in part of the constellation Ophiuchus belong to the Snake Nebula. The Snake Nebula is a series of dark absorption clouds made up of Interstellar dust . Interstellar dust grains - composed predominantly of carbon - absorb visible starlight and reradiate much of it in the infrared . This absorption causes stars behind the clouds to be obscured from view, hence the appearance of starless voids on the sky.
| Date | August 24, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit and Copyright: B. Wallis and R. Provin |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |