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Credit & Copyright: WFI,
European Southern Observatory
Explanation:
Hot blue stars, red glowing hydrogen gas, and dark, obscuring dust
clouds are strewn through this dramatic region of
the Milky Way in the southern constellation
of Ara (the Altar).
About 4,000 light-years from Earth, the stars at the left are
young, massive, and energetic.
Their intense
ultraviolet radiation is eating away at the nearby
star forming cloud complex - ionizing the hydrogen gas and producing
the characteristic
red "hydrogen-alpha" glow.
At right, visible within the dark dust nebula,
is small cluster of newborn stars.
This beautiful color picture is a
composite of images made through
blue, green, and hydrogen-alpha filters.
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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: star cluster - star formation - emission nebula - star - Milky Way
Publications with words: star cluster - star formation - emission nebula - star - 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
- Young Star Cluster NGC 346
- APOD: 2025 April 28 B Gum 37 and the Southern Tadpoles
- NGC 6164: A Dragon s Egg
- APOD: 2025 March 26 B Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula