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.

                                2023 March 21
    [2]A star field strewn with bunches of brown dust is pictured. In the
   center is a bright area of light brown dust, and in the center of that
    is a bright region of star formation. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                  Dark Nebulae and Star Formation in Taurus
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Vikas Chander

   Explanation: Can dust be beautiful? Yes, and it can also be useful. The
   [4]Taurus molecular cloud has several bright stars, but it is the
   [5]dark dust that really [6]draws attention. The pervasive [7]dust has
   waves and ripples and makes picturesque [8]dust [9]bunnies, but perhaps
   more importantly, it marks regions where [10]interstellar gas is dense
   enough to [11]gravitationally contract to form stars. In the image
   center is a light cloud lit by neighboring stars that is home not only
   to a famous nebula, but to a very young and massive famous star. Both
   the star, [12]T Tauri, and the nebula, [13]Hind's Variable Nebula, are
   seen to vary dramatically in brightness -- but not necessarily at the
   same time, adding to the mystery of this intriguing region. [14]T Tauri
   and [15]similar stars are now generally recognized to be [16]Sun-like
   stars that are less than a few million years old and so still in the
   early stages of [17]formation. The featured image spans about four
   [18]degrees not far from the [19]Pleiades star cluster, while the
   featured dust field lies about 400 [20]light-years away.

               Tomorrow's picture: an unusually distant swirl
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply.
              [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC,
                         [41]NASA Science Activation
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/TaurusDust_Chander_4096.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/vikaschanderastrophotography/
   4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_molecular_cloud
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180626.html
   6. https://www.selfsufficientculture.com/attachments/cat-dog-chickens-looking-into-kitchen-through-window-jpeg.811/
   7. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain
   8. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21017966/anatomy-of-a-dust-bunny
   9. https://dailybunny.org/
  10. https://stardate.org/astro-guide/interstellar-gas-and-dust
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_collapse
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Tauri
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220210.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110326.html
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Tauri_star
  16. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-the-sun/
  17. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve
  18. https://lco.global/spacebook/sky/using-angles-describe-positions-and-apparent-sizes-objects/
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221205.html
  20. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230320.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230321
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230322.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  41. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/