Posted on 01/20/2022 4:13:23 PM PST by MtnClimber
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.
Explanation: Hot, young stars and cosmic pillars of gas and dust seem to crowd into NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus, the glowing star forming region lies about 3,000 light-years away. Within the nebula, bright edges and dark shapes stand out in this colorful telescopic skyscape. The image includes data from narrowband filters, mapping emission from atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green, and red hues. The emission line and color combination has become well-known as the Hubble palette. The atomic emission is powered by energetic radiation from the central hot stars. Their powerful winds and radiation sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes and clear out a characteristic cavity light-years across the center of the natal cloud. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cutoff from their reservoir of star stuff. This field of view spans about 40 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 7822.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
bttt
This looks like a sheep leaping in front of a giant blue mouse,
I wonder what a comparable image from the JWST will look like ....
Cool stuff!
Not sure what the JWST would look like. It’s big reflector mirror is an IR imaging lens so it probably would not pick up the duct very well.
Stunning!
Each live link is well worth checking out, including an informative piece on the colorization of Hubble’s black and white photography. No kitties or pups, though, to my disappointment.
The images remind me of the Three Wise Men on their journey by camel - probably because I just put away the Christmas cards.
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