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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.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

A Chamaeleon Sky

Explanation: A photogenic group of nebulae can be found in Chamaeleon , a constellation visible predominantly in skies south of the Earth's equator . Towards Chamaeleon , dark molecular clouds and bright planetary nebula NGC 3195 can be found. Visible near the center of the above photograph is a reflection nebula surrounding a young bright star. On the lower right, a dark molecular cloud blocks the light from stars behind it. It takes light hundreds of years to reach us from these objects .

Date March 23, 1999
Credit Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.