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Astronomy Picture of the Day - LDN 1235: The Shark Nebula
NASA ^ | 18 Mar, 2025 | Image Credit & Copyright: Timothy Martin

Posted on 03/18/2025 12:35:52 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: There is no sea on Earth large enough to contain the Shark nebula. This predator apparition poses us no danger as it is composed only of interstellar gas and dust. Dark dust like that featured here is somewhat like cigarette smoke and created in the cool atmospheres of giant stars. After expelling gas and gravitationally recondensing, massive stars may carve intricate structures into their birth cloud using their high energy light and fast stellar winds as sculpting tools. The heat they generate evaporates the murky molecular cloud as well as causing ambient hydrogen gas to disperse and glow red. During disintegration, we humans can enjoy imagining these great clouds as common icons, like we do for water clouds on Earth. Including smaller dust nebulae such as Van den Bergh 149 & 150, the Shark nebula, sometimes cataloged as LDN 1235, spans about 15 light years and lies about 650 light years away toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus).


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
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 03/18/2025 12:35:52 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 03/18/2025 12:36:14 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

3 posted on 03/18/2025 12:37:01 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

4 posted on 03/18/2025 12:41:32 PM PDT by DFG
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To: MtnClimber

Alternate name: the “Jaws”Nebula…


5 posted on 03/18/2025 12:46:18 PM PDT by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! 🔭)
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To: MtnClimber

Wow

I actually see it.

Most of the time I don’t

It could also be a opossum


6 posted on 03/18/2025 12:47:57 PM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: MtnClimber

Space sharknado!!!!

sharkbula


7 posted on 03/18/2025 12:56:30 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Pontiac
It could also be a opossum

That's what I see.

8 posted on 03/18/2025 12:57:55 PM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
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To: MtnClimber

9 posted on 03/18/2025 12:57:59 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: DannyTN
sharkbula

Sharknado wins. Sharkbula make me think of Count Chocula and Frankenberry.

10 posted on 03/18/2025 1:09:40 PM PDT by AFB-XYZ ( )
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To: MtnClimber

Wow.


11 posted on 03/18/2025 1:32:16 PM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: telescope115

We need a bigger boat.


12 posted on 03/18/2025 1:36:16 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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