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Credit & Copyright: Axel Mellinger
Explanation:
At first, the bright stars of the large
asterism
known as the (northern)
Winter Hexagon might be hard to pick out in this gorgeous
deep sky mosaic from December 2002.
But placing your cursor over the picture will reveal the hexagon's
outlines and the bright clusters and nebulae along
a stunning portion of
the Milky Way
opposite the
galactic center.
The celestial highlights include
M42
(aka the Great Nebula of Orion),
Orion's Horsehead nebula,
the Rosette and
Cone nebulae, and nearby star clusters
M45 (Pleiades) and Gemini's own
M35.
For now, this hexagon is sinking low in western
evening skies.
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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: nebula - cluster
Publications with words: nebula - cluster
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 22 B A Double Detonation Supernova
- APOD: 2025 March 18 B LDN 1235: The Shark Nebula
- APOD: 2024 June 11 B Colorful Stars and Clouds near Rho Ophiuchi
- APOD: 2024 January 23 B Deep Nebulas: From Seagull to California
- APOD: 2023 June 14 B The Shark Nebula
- NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula
- A Galaxy Beyond Stars, Gas, Dust