October 18, 2009
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
The Star Pillars of Sharpless 171
Birthday · October 18, 2009
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APOD published October 18, 2009. Credit: Nicolas Outters (Observatoire d'Orange). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Towering pillars of cold gas and dark dust adorn the center star forming region of Sharpless 171. An open cluster of stars is forming there from the gas in cold molecular clouds. As energetic light emitted by young massive stars boils away the opaque dust, the region fragments and picturesque pillars of the remnant gas and dust form and slowly evaporate. The energetic light also illuminates the surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to glow as a red emission nebula. Pictured above is the active central region of the Sharpless 171 greater emission nebula. Sharpless 171 incorporates NGC 7822 and the active region Cederblad 214, much of which is imaged above. The area above spans about 20 light years, lies about 3,000 light years away, and can be seen with a telescope toward the northern constellation of the King of Ethiopia (Cepheus).
Image credit: Nicolas Outters (Observatoire d'Orange)