The "North America Nebula" (left) and the "Pelican Nebula" (right) photographed from my backyard with a wide-angle telescope & astrophotography camera. These are 1,600 light years from Earth.
See the comment section for a picture of each shape.
The dark band in the middle of the photo is a thick band of "interstellar dust."
The study of interstellar dust is said to be at the "forefront of astrophysics" and essential to discovering the "origin of life itself."
Interstellar dust is formed toward the end of a star's life cycle, when a star begins to shed its outer layers. Solar winds blow the particles into space. These particles (carbon, iron, silicon, magnesium, and oxygen) are covered in ice because of how cold it is in deep space. The icy particles attract gas and dust and start clumping together, absorbing light, and ultimately create new stars and planets.
Just how big are these dust particles? Dust particles on Earth are between 1 and 100 "microns" in size (1 micron = 1/25,000th of an inch). Dust particles in space are, on average, 0.2 microns.
Full size photo here: https://astrob.in/full/mwkc1y/0/
See the comment section for a picture of each shape.
The dark band in the middle of the photo is a thick band of "interstellar dust."
The study of interstellar dust is said to be at the "forefront of astrophysics" and essential to discovering the "origin of life itself."
Interstellar dust is formed toward the end of a star's life cycle, when a star begins to shed its outer layers. Solar winds blow the particles into space. These particles (carbon, iron, silicon, magnesium, and oxygen) are covered in ice because of how cold it is in deep space. The icy particles attract gas and dust and start clumping together, absorbing light, and ultimately create new stars and planets.
Just how big are these dust particles? Dust particles on Earth are between 1 and 100 "microns" in size (1 micron = 1/25,000th of an inch). Dust particles in space are, on average, 0.2 microns.
Full size photo here: https://astrob.in/full/mwkc1y/0/
landscape -- we must remember that the orientation of celestial objects is completely subjective.
North America nebula (left); Pelican Nebula (right)
miro's diamond (without red box)
"cygnus wall" -- a concentrated area of gas, dust, and newly formed stars.
pelican nebula
this shows the "ionization front" within the pelican nebula.