天蝎座的黑塔

天蝎座的黑塔

The Dark Tower in Scorpius
Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby

Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star field along the tail of the arachnological constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous dark tower. In fact, monstrous clumps of dust and molecular gas collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this gorgeous telescopic portrait. A cometary globule, the swept-back cloud is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the OB association of very hot stars in NGC 6231, off the upper right corner of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule’s bordering reddish glow of hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish reflection nebulae. This dark tower and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away.

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天蝎座的黑塔
影像提供与版权: Mike Selby

说明: 在天蝎座尾部密布的恒星的衬托下，这团以剪影之姿现身的黝黑宇宙尘埃云，让我们联想到不祥的黑塔。只不过，在这幅壮丽的望远镜影像里，这座黑塔绵延了将近40光年，而且在这个暗星云之内，可能藏着正在塌缩形成恒星的尘埃和分子气体团块。这个分类为彗星状云球的后掠星云，雕塑出其形状的强烈紫外辐射，源自影像右上角外头的星团NGC 6231内的极端炙热OB星协。这些强烈的紫外辐射，同时也激发云球边缘的氢气发出泛红辉光。而深埋在黑塔尘埃里的炽热恒星，可从其周围泛蓝的小反射星云辨识出来。这座黑塔及相关的星云，离我们约5,000光年远。

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明日的图片: a dark pulsar