                  APOD: 2017 December 9 - Stardust in Aries

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

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

                                2017 December 9
                                      [2]
                              Stardust in Aries
  Image Credit & Copyright [3] : Rogelio Bernal Andreo [4]  (Deep Sky Colors)

Explanation: This composition in stardust [5] covers over 8 degrees on the
northern sky. The mosaicked field of view is west of the familiar Pleiades
star cluster, toward the zodiacal constellation Aries [6]  and the plane of
our Milky Way [7]  Galaxy. At right in the deep skyscape is bluish Epsilon
Arietis, a star visible to the naked-eye and about 330 light-years away.
Reflecting starlight in the region, dusty nebulae [8] LBN762, LBN753, and
LBN743 sprawl left to right [9] across the field, but are likely some 1,000
light-years away. At that estimated distance, the cosmic canvas is over 140
light-years across. Near the edge of a large molecular cloud [10] , their dark
interiors can hide [11]  newly formed stars [12]  and young stellar objects or
protostars from prying optical telescopes. Collapsing due to self-gravity [13]
, the protostars form [14]  around dense cores embedded in the molecular
cloud.

                  Tomorrow's picture: in green company [15]

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [27] (MTU [28] ) & Jerry Bonnell [29]
                                  (UMCP [30] )
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1712/RBA_DS_Clouds_of_Aries.jpg
  [3] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [4] https://www.facebook.com/DeepSkyColors
  [5] http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
  [6] http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/ari/index.html
  [7] ap090613.html
  [8] https://www.astrobin.com/302749/?nc=all
  [9] image/1712/RBA_DS_Clouds_of_Aries_Labels.jpg
  [10] http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Bima/GMC.html
  [11] ap061006.html
  [12] http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/
spitzer20070829b.html
  [13] http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/ astro/gravc.html
  [14] http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Bima/ StarForm.html
  [15] ap171210.html
  [16] ap171208.html
  [17] archivepix.html
  [18] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [19] lib/aptree.html
  [20] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [21] calendar/allyears.html
  [22] /apod.rss
  [23] lib/edlinks.html
  [24] lib/about_apod.html
  [25] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=171209
  [26] ap171210.html
  [27] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [28] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [29] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [30] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [31] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [32] http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [33] http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
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