November 30, 2022
Every year, the Earth returns to the same point in its orbit where it was when you were born.
The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty
Birthday · November 30, 2022
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APOD published November 30, 2022. Credit: Anthony Quintile. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This colorful skyscape spans about four full moons across nebula rich starfields along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy in the royal northern constellation Cepheus. Near the edge of the region's massive molecular cloud some 2,400 light-years away, bright reddish emission region Sharpless (Sh) 155 is at the center of the frame, also known as the Cave Nebula. About 10 light-years across the cosmic cave's bright walls of gas are ionized by ultraviolet light from the hot young stars around it. Dusty reflection nebulae, like vdB 155 to the right, and dense obscuring clouds of dust also abound on the interstellar canvas. Astronomical explorations have revealed other dramatic signs of star formation, including the bright reddish fleck of Herbig-Haro (HH) 168. Below and right of center, the Herbig-Haro object emission is generated by energetic jets from a newborn star.
Image credit: Anthony Quintile