July 10, 2023
Somewhere between the hydrogen and the starlight, between the gravity and the grace, the universe conspired to bring you into being.
Stars, Dust and Nebula in NGC 6559
Birthday · July 10, 2023
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APOD published July 10, 2023. Credit: Adam Block, Telescope Live. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
When stars form, pandemonium reigns. A textbook case is the star forming region NGC 6559. Visible in the featured image are red glowing emission nebulas of hydrogen, blue reflection nebulas of dust, dark absorption nebulas of dust, and the stars that formed from them. The first massive stars formed from the dense gas will emit energetic light and winds that erode, fragment, and sculpt their birthplace. And then they explode. The resulting morass can be as beautiful as it is complex. After tens of millions of years, the dust boils away, the gas gets swept away, and all that is left is a bare open cluster of stars.
Image credit: Adam Block, Telescope Live