September 25, 1996
Every candle on your cake is a tiny imitation of the stars that made you possible.
Bright Stars and Dark Clouds Credit:
Birthday · September 25, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published September 25, 1996. Credit: Anglo-Australian Telescope Board. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Did you ever feel like a black cloud was following you around? Well don't feel bad - this even happened to the bright young stars of the open cluster NGC 6520. On the left are the cluster's bright blue stars. They formed only millions of years ago - much more recently than our ancient Sun which formed billions of years ago. On the right is an absorption nebula from which the stars might have formed. This nebula contains much opaque dust which blocks visible light from the many stars that would have been seen in the background. The study of open clusters is valuable for many reasons which include the understanding star formation and the calibration of the distance scale of our universe. Information: Thursday, September 26 - A Total Lunar Eclipse
Image credit: Anglo-Australian Telescope Board