PIX4621267: Molecular cloud B 68 in Ophiuchus seen in infrared - False - colour composite based on a visible (here rendered as blue), a near - infrared (green) and an infrared (red) image. Since the light from stars behind the cloud is only visible at the longest (infrared) wavelengths, they appear red. At a distance of only 410 light - years, Barnard 68 is one of the nearest dark clouds. Its size is about 12,500 AU (= 2 million km; 1 Astronomical Unit [AU] = 150 million km), or just about the same as the so - called “” Oort Cloud””” of long - period comets that surrounds the solar system. The temperature of Barnard 68 is 16 Kelvin (- 257* C) The total mass of the cloud is about twice that of the Sun / Bridgeman Images
PIX4621601: Dark Nebula in Scorpio - A dark cloud in Scorpius - Unnamed nebula in Scorpius. Bright rimmed globules and their more evolved cousin the cometary globule represent fascinating dynamic structures formed by the interplay of cold molecular clouds and hot ionizing stars. Typically the head of the globule faces a hot O - type star. Intense radiation from the star boils away lower density gas from the head. The evaporated rim of gas becomes ionized by the stars ultraviolet flux forming a bright glowing rim we associate with many of these globules including CG4. Intense stellar winds from the ionizing star evaporate gas and dust away from the head forming the “” tail”” and completing the cometary shape. The blood cells are known to be the birthplace of low mass stars. Stars form within the blood cells by the mechanism known as “” radiation driven implosion”. This process occurs when ultraviolet flux from a hot star compresses surviving clumps of cold molecular gas eventually causing collapse and core formation within the dense compact clouds. Lower and intermediate mass stars ultimately form from the compact gas and dust within the blood cells / Bridgeman Images
PIX4622555: Nebulae VdB 93 and IC 2177 in Unicorn - VDB 93 (NGC 2327) is a star-forming region belonging to nebula IC 2177. The star SAO 152320, in the center of the image, illuminates this nebula located in the constellation Unicorn, about 4000 years old - light from Earth. Mosaic of images obtained in 1983 and 1989 with the 1.2m Schmidt UK Telescope from Siding Spring / Bridgeman Images
PIX4622567: Nebulae IC 2948 and 2944 in Centaur - A large southern emission nebula, IC 2948 - Nebula IC 2948 is a vast nebula located about 6000 years from Earth in the southern constellation of Centaur. It is associated with the cluster of stars IC 2944 near which Bok's blood cells are visible. A Bok's blood cell is a dark interstellar cloud of gases and dust that absorb light. If it condenses enough, it gives birth to new stars. IC2944 is a large HII region (star forming cloud) in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The bright blue star in the upper right is Lambda Centauri, one of the brightest stars in the southern sky.The cluster of hot blue stars to the right of center are illuminating the gases of IC2944 and causing it to glow in the red and magenta light of excited hydrogen. The compact black objects adjacent to the bright blue stars are called Thackeray's Globules named for the astronomer A.D. Thackeray who described these in 1950. Thackeray Globules are similar to Bok Globules which are compact dark structures first described by the astronomer Bart Bok (1906 - 1983) in the 1940's. Bok Globules are small dark clouds of gas and dust that are found in HII regions and typically have a mass of about 10 to 50 solar masses. They often span a region of about one light year across. Their contents are predominantly molecular hydrogen, carbon oxides and helium but also contain about small amounts (1%) of silicate dust. Infrared observations in the 1990's detected the existence of protostars within the dense confines of Bok globules confirming the hypothesis of Bok, who strongly believed that these globules represented cocoons of starbirth. The larger Bok Globules seen in the image are about 1.4 light years across and contain enough mass to make 15 suns. Four Frame Mosaic, Total Exposure 28 Hours 14.5”” RCOS telescope / Bridgeman Images
PIX4622614: Nebula IC 4628 and star clusters in Scorpio - Nebula IC 4628 and star clusters in Scorpio - Nebula IC 4628 in the middle left of the image is surrounded at the bottom by the star cluster NGC 6231, and by the NGC 6242 cluster at the top of the image. A beautiful collection of open clusters and nebulosity is seen here in Scorpius, just north of the double star Zeta Scorpii. Zeta is visible at the far bottom right and is also know as the “Little Cat's Eyes””. NGC 6231 is a lovely open cluster above Zeta. IC 4628 is the emission nebula just northeast of two loose open clusters, Cr 316 and Tr 24 in the center of the photo. NGC 6242 is the other small open cluster at top left. (c) 2006 Jerry Lodriguss/www.astropix.co / Bridgeman Images
PIX4622715: Cocon Nebula (IC 5146) in Swan - Cocon Nebula (IC 5146) in Swan - Cocon Nebula is located about 4000 light years from Earth in the constellation Swan. It's a star-forming region. Image obtained by the Oschin telescope of Mount Palomar through several filters and composed / Bridgeman Images
PIX4619938: Eagle Nebula (IC 4703) and M16 star cluster in the Snake - Eagle Nebula (IC 4703) and M16 star cluster in the Snake - Messier 16 is a cluster of stars formed about 2 million years ago from the gas and dust that still surrounds it today. The nebula always forms new stars. It is located about 7000 light years from Earth in the constellation Serpent / Bridgeman Images
PIX4619985: Eagle Nebula (IC 4703) and M16 Star Cluster in the Snake - Eagle Nebula (IC 4703) and M16 Star Cluster in the Snake - The M16 Star Cluster is a cluster of young stars from 7000 years - light, formed about 2 million years ago in the Eagle Nebula, IC 4703 3. These stars are much warmer than the Sun and can be 30 times more massive. / Bridgeman Images
PIX4618750: Nebula NGC 2264, S Monocerotis, Hubble nebula and Trumpler 5 clusters in Unicorn - Nebula NGC 2264, S Monocerotis, Hubble nebula and Trumpler 5 clusters in Unicorn - The Cone nebula, in the right center, is a H II region located about 2600 years - light from Earth. The bright star in the center is S Monocerotis, a star of magnitude 4.7. Upstairs, an open cluster of stars, Trumpler 5. Below, to the right, the Hubble nebula. Image obtained with a Takahashi FSQ 106 bezel, through various filters / Bridgeman Images
PIX4618911: Nebula NGC 3372 and cluster of stars in the Carene - The nebula of the Carene is located about 7000 years from the Earth. It is home to many hot stars, including the star Eta Carinae. All around it, many star clusters are visible, including the South Pleiades, IC 2602, top left / Bridgeman Images
PIX4618962: Nebula NGC 3372 in the Carene - The nebula of the Carene is located about 7000 light years from the Earth. It's a star-forming region. It also houses a dozen massive stars, including the star Eta Carinae (left). On the right, a cluster of young stars, Trumpler 14. Image made with ACS camera of the Hubble space telescope, 48-frame mosaic / Bridgeman Images
PIX4618998: Nebulae in the Carene - H - Alpha - The Carene nebula (NGC 3372), on the right, is located about 7000 light years from Earth. It is home to many hot stars, including the star Eta Carinae. Lower left, nebulae NGC 3603 and NGC 3576. Image made with an H - alpha filter in Chile / Bridgeman Images
PIX4617207: Mercury by Mariner 10 - Mercury by Mariner 10 - Shakespeare crater region - Mosaic of images made by the Mariner 10 probe. Shakespeare crater area (poorly visible on the left; In the right center of the image, the 45 km Degas crater with its bright star ejectas. On the left, part of the Caloris basin / Bridgeman Images
PIX4618298: Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) in the Sea bream - Around the Tarantula nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud - The Tarantula Nebula (or 30 Bream bream) is the largest star-forming region of the Great Magellan Cloud. It is located 170,000 light years ago in the constellation Dorado (southern hemisphere). At the center of this nebula, the open cluster of R136 stars, clusters of hot and massive stars. Mosaic of 14 images, 70 hours of cumulative poses. Known as the Tarantula Nebula for its spidery appearance, the 30 Doradus complex is a huge stellar factory. It is the largest emission nebula in the sky, and can be seen far down in the southern sky at a distance of about 170,000 light - years, in the southern constellation Dorado. It is part of one of the Milky Way's neighbouring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Tarantula Nebula is thought to contain more than half a million times the mass of the Sun in gas and this vast, blazing labyrinth hosts some of the most massive stars known. Surrounding this nebula is a huge and much fainter series of interlocking bubbles and shells of gas and dust blow away from the center of activity by intense stellar winds and supernova explosions. 14 Panel Mosaic, Total Exposure 70 Hours with a 14.5” telescope / Bridgeman Images
PIX4618597: Nebula of the cone Ngc 2264 in the Unicorn - The Cone Nebula (also known as NGC 2264) is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1785. The nebula is located about 800 parsecs or 2,600 light - years away from Earth. The Cone Nebula is part of the nebulosity surrounding the Christmas Tree Cluster. The designation of NGC 2264 in the New General Catalogue refers to both objects and not the nebula alone / Bridgeman Images