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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.
NGC 7822: Stars and Dust Pillars in Infrared
Explanation: Young stars themselves are clearing out their nursery in NGC 7822. Within the nebula , bright edges and complex dust sculptures dominate this detailed skyscape taken in infrared light by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) satellite. NGC 7822 lies at the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus , a glowing star forming region that lies about 3,000 light-years away. The atomic emission of light by the nebula's gas is powered by energetic radiation from the hot stars, whose powerful wind s and light also sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse , but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cut off from their reservoir of star stuff . This field spans around 40 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 7822 .
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| Date | November 19, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit: WISE , IRSA , NASA ; Processing & Copyright : Francesco Antonucci |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |