Dust Clouds of the Pacman Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Douglas J. Struble (Future World Media)
Explanation: Stars can create huge and intricate dust sculptures from the dense and dark molecular clouds from which they are born. The tools the stars use to carve their detailed works are high energy light and fast stellar winds. The heat they generate evaporates the dark molecular dust as well as causing ambient hydrogen gas to disperse and glow red. Pictured here, a new open cluster of stars designated IC 1590 is nearing completion around the intricate interstellar dust structures in the emission nebula NGC 281, dubbed the Pac-man Nebula because of its overall shape. The dust cloud on the upper left is classified as a Bok Globule as it may gravitationally collapse and form a star — or stars. The Pacman Nebula lies about 10,000 light years away toward the constellation of Cassiopeia.
Tomorrow’s picture: MAGIC meteors
小精灵星云的尘埃云
影像提供与版权: Douglas J. Struble (Future World Media)
说明: 诞生于致密暗分子云内的恒星，经常会创造出庞大且形状复杂的尘埃雕塑。恒星用以雕出它们细致作品的工具，则是高能星光及高速的恒星风。它们所散发的热，则会蒸发孕育它们的暗分子云之尘埃，并吹散周围的氢气并激发它们发出泛红辉光。在上面这幅影像中，位在发射星云NGC 281里、周围环拱着复杂星际尘埃结构、编录号为IC 1590的疏散星团，几乎已快完成它的工作。因其整体的外观，NGC 281亦有小精灵星云的昵称。影像左上角的暗星云之分类为包克云球，因为它未来可能会发生重力塌缩形成恒星。小精灵星云位在仙后座方向，离我们约10,000光年远。
明日的图片: MAGIC meteors
