Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2019 December 12
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             Decorating the Sky
   Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Leonardo Julio ([5]Astronomia Pampeana)

   Explanation: Bright stars, clouds of dust and glowing nebulae
   [6]decorate this cosmic scene, a skyscape just north of [7]Orion's
   belt. Close to the plane of our [8]Milky Way galaxy, the wide field
   view spans about 5.5 degrees. Striking [9]bluish M78, a reflection
   nebula, is on the right. M78's tint is due to dust preferentially
   reflecting the [10]blue light of hot, young stars. In colorful
   contrast, the red sash of glowing hydrogen gas sweeping through the
   center is part of the region's faint but [11]extensive emission nebula
   known as [12]Barnard's Loop. At lower left, a dark dust cloud forms a
   prominent silhouette cataloged as [13]LDN 1622. While M78 and the
   complex Barnard's Loop are some 1,500 light-years away, LDN 1622 is
   likely to be much closer, only about 500 light-years distant from our
   fair planet Earth.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1912/m78ldn1622barnardsloopJulio.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://astronomiapampeana.com.ar/contacto.html
   5. http://astronomiapampeana.com.ar/
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090411.html
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171123.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191010.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190308.html
  10. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/messier-78
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101023.html
  12. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1894PA......2..151B/abstract
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190202.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191211.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=191212
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191213.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/