Astronomy Picture of the Day -- In Wolf's Cave

NASA ^ | November 19, 2011 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: The mysterious blue reflection nebula found in catalogs as VdB 152 or Ced 201 really is very faint. It lies at the tip of the long dark nebula Barnard 175 in a dusty complex that has also been called Wolf's Cave. The cosmic apparitions are nearly 1,400 light-years away along the northern Milky Way in the royal constellation Cepheus. Near the edge of a large molecular cloud, pockets of interstellar dust in the region block light from background stars or scatter light from the embedded bright star giving the the nebula its characteristic blue color. Ultraviolet light from the star is also thought to cause a dim reddish luminescence in the nebular dust. Though stars do form in molecular clouds, this star seems to have only accidentally wandered into the area, as its measured velocity through space is very different from the cloud's velocity. This deep telescopic image of the region spans about 7 light-years.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit & Copyright: Jerry Lodriguss (Catching the Light)]

[SunkenCiv]

Poll: Which of October's APODs should be the APOM?

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[.30Carbine]

...this star seems to have only accidentally wandered into the area...

That sort of thing is always happening to me, too: Wandering into clouds or wolf's caves in space, light-years away from where I am expected to be!

But the Lord delivers me from all these things, and makes me radiant as a star!

[cripplecreek]

NASA Probe Offers Do-It-Yourself Imagery (plus raw data and a free program to deal with their KITS format).

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/home/Deep-sky-with-EPOXI-133979233.html

I see if I can figure it out today but I couldn’t install the required program last night.

[left that other site]

Wolf’s cave? Isn’t a People Cave that a wolf wandered into and became a domesticated DAWG!

[momtothree]

Reminds me of smoke coming up from a lit cigarette. I don’t see a wolf or a cave. Super cool picture though.