November 29, 2007
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
Stardust in Perseus
Birthday · November 29, 2007
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published November 29, 2007. Credit: Jeff Lunglhofer. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This cosmic expanse of dust, gas, and stars covers some 4 degrees on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus. Centered in the gorgeous skyscape is the dusty blue reflection nebula NGC 1333, about 1,000 light-years away. At that estimated distance, the field of view is nearly 70 light-years across. Other reflection nebulae are scattered around, along with remarkable dark dust nebulae and the faint reddish glow of hydrogen gas. These dust and gas clouds lie near the edge of a large molecular cloud. Themselves telltale signs of star-forming regions, they tend to hide the newly formed stars and young stellar objects or protostars from prying optical telescopes. Collapsing due to self-gravity, the protostars form around dense cores embedded in the molecular cloud.
Image credit: Jeff Lunglhofer