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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Dust and the Western Veil Nebula
NASA ^ | 18 Oct, 2023 | Image Credit & Copyright: Jiang Wu

Posted on 10/18/2023 12:11:24 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: It's so big it is easy to miss. The entire Veil Nebula spans six times the diameter of the full moon, but is so dim you need binoculars to see it. The nebula was created about 15,000 years ago when a star in the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) exploded. The spectacular explosion would have appeared brighter than even Venus for a week - but there is no known record of it. Pictured is the western edge of the still-expanding gas cloud. Notable gas filaments include the Witch's Broom Nebula on the upper left near the bright foreground star 52 Cygni, and Fleming's Triangular Wisp (formerly known as Pickering's Triangle) running diagonally up the image middle. What is rarely imaged -- but seen in the featured long exposure across many color bands -- is the reflecting brown dust that runs vertically up the image left, dust likely created in the cool atmospheres of massive stars.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: nasa; thefaceofevil
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

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.

1 posted on 10/18/2023 12:11:24 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 10/18/2023 12:11:45 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; America_Right; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔


3 posted on 10/18/2023 12:12:28 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

4 posted on 10/18/2023 12:15:01 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (They say "Our Democracy" but they mean Cosa Nostra.)
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To: MtnClimber

Looks like a salmon.


5 posted on 10/18/2023 12:15:17 PM PDT by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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To: MtnClimber

It looks like satan.


6 posted on 10/18/2023 12:20:03 PM PDT by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: MtnClimber

Zoykes, Shaggy!


7 posted on 10/18/2023 12:20:26 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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