August 27, 2008
Every birthday is a reminder that you are made of the same material as the stars overhead — carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, all cooked in stellar...
IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula
Birthday · August 27, 2008
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APOD published August 27, 2008. Credit: Ken Crawford. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars. Cataloged as IC 5146, the beautiful nebula is nearly 15 light-years wide, located some 4,000 light years away toward the northern constellation Cygnus. Like other star forming regions, it stands out in red, glowing, hydrogen gas excited by young, hot stars and blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud. In fact, the bright star near the center of this nebula is likely only a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as it clears out a cavity in the molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas. This color view of the Cocoon Nebula traces remarkably subtle features within and surrounding the dusty stellar nursery. Announcement: APOD Editor RJN to open Final Frontier art exhibit in Ireland on August 28
Image credit: Ken Crawford