April 3, 2019
The elements that make you — the calcium in your bones, the oxygen in your lungs — were scattered across space by dying stars long before...
Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
Birthday · April 3, 2019
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APOD published April 3, 2019. Credit: Mario Zauner. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of absorbing dust and glowing gas. To bring out details of the Horsehead's pasture, an amateur astronomer used a backyard telescope in Austria to accumulate and artistically combine 7.5 hours of images in the light of Hydrogen (red), Oxygen (green), and Sulfur (blue). The resulting spectacular picture details an intricate tapestry of gaseous wisps and dust-laden filaments that were created and sculpted over eons by stellar winds and ancient supernovas. The Flame Nebula is visible just to the left of the Horsehead, while the bright star on the upper left is Alnilam, the central star in Orion's Belt. The Horsehead Nebula lies 1,500 light years distant towards the constellation of Orion. Bounce around the Universe: Random APOD Generator
Image credit: Mario Zauner