September 28, 2012
In the grand ledger of cosmic time, a human life is breathtakingly brief. But brevity is not insignificance.
Stars in a Dusty Sky
Birthday · September 28, 2012
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published September 28, 2012. Credit: John Davis. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Bright star Markab anchors this dusty skyscape. At the top right corner of the frame, Markab itself marks a corner of an asterism known as the Great Square, found within the boundaries of the constellation Pegasus, the flying horse. The wide and deep telescopic view rides along for some 5 degrees or about 10 times the angular diameter of the Full Moon, with blue reflection nebulae scattered around the scene. And even though this line-of-sight looks away from the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, it covers a region known to be filled with nearby molecular clouds. The associated dust clouds, high latitude galactic cirrus, are less than 1,000 light-years distant. Still apparent, but far beyond the Milky Way, are background galaxies, like the prominent edge-on spiral NGC 7497 near picture center.
Image credit: John Davis