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Explanation: Ominously foreshadowing events to come, a dark cloud of obscuring dust stands out against a luminous star field in the Milky Way. Cataloged as Feitzinger and Stuwe object "1-457" this fuliginous interstellar nebula is relatively close - possibly only 1,000 light-years distant. Near its core it is dense enough to block almost all of the light from the numerous, more distant stars visible toward the galactic center region. In addition to dust grains, dark nebulae which abound in the plane of our Galaxy are likely to contain interstellar gas and represent potential raw material for future star formation.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: dark cloud - dust cloud - dark - Milky Way
Publications with words: dark cloud - dust cloud - dark - Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2025 May 20 B Milky Way over Maunakea
- APOD: 2025 May 13 B Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy
- APOD: 2025 May 12 B Gaia Reconstructs a Side View of our Galaxy
- Galaxies in Space
- APOD: 2025 February 9 B Milky Way over the Australian Pinnacles
- APOD: 2024 November 24 B Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 18 B Stars and Dust in the Pacman Nebula