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Astronomy Picture of the Day - LDN 1622: Dark Nebula in Orion
NASA ^ | 22 Jan, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Chris Fellows

Posted on 01/22/2026 11:57:22 AM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: The silhouette of an intriguing dark nebula inhabits this cosmic scene. Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible in long telescopic exposures of the region. In contrast, a brighter reflection nebula, vdB 62, is more easily seen just above the dusty dark nebula. LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close on the sky to Barnard's Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword of Orion. With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN 1622 is thought to lie at a similar distance, perhaps 1,500 light-years away. At that distance, this 3 degree wide field of view would span about 100 light-years. Young stars do lie hidden within the dark expanse and have been revealed in Spitzer Space telescope infrared images. Still, the foreboding visual appearance of LDN 1622 inspires its popular name, the Boogeyman Nebula.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa

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1 posted on 01/22/2026 11:57:22 AM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 01/22/2026 11:57:48 AM PST 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 01/22/2026 11:58:35 AM PST 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
thank you.


4 posted on 01/22/2026 12:05:02 PM PST by Diogenesis (Si vis pacem, para bellum)
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To: MtnClimber
FYI

Rare triple conjunction: January 23, 2026 ─ the Moon, Saturn and Neptune


5 posted on 01/22/2026 12:15:12 PM PST by Kid Shelleen (Beat your plowshares into swords. Let the weak say I am strong)
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To: MtnClimber

Looks like Elmo…..looking for a cheeseburger.


6 posted on 01/22/2026 2:32:14 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer” )
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To: Kid Shelleen

Oh, that is so cool! Thanks for sharing that!


7 posted on 01/22/2026 4:03:24 PM PST by Deaf and Discerning
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To: Diogenesis
Out of all the pictures my favorite is the monochrome. The color photos are nice, but the monochrome is just so fine.
8 posted on 01/22/2026 4:54:06 PM PST by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
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