                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         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.

                                2018 October 26
                                      [2]
                        IC 59 and IC 63 in Cassiopeia
  Image Credit & Copyright [3] : Ken Crawford [4] (Rancho Del Sol Obs. [5] )

Explanation: These bright rims and flowing shapes look ghostly on a cosmic
scale. A telescopic view toward the constellation Cassiopeia [6] , the
colorful (zoomable) skyscape [7]  features the swept-back, comet-shaped clouds
IC 59 (left) and IC 63. About 600 light-years distant, the clouds [8] aren't
actually ghosts, but they are slowly disappearing under the influence of
energetic radiation [9]  from hot,luminous star gamma Cas. Gamma Cas [10]  is
physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the nebulae, just off the top
right edge of the frame. Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated by
red H-alpha light emitted [11]  as hydrogen atoms ionized by the star's
ultraviolet radiation recombine with electrons. Farther from the star, IC 59
shows proportionally less H-alpha emission but more of the characteristic blue
tint of dust reflected star light [12] . The field of view spans about 1
degree or 10 light-years at the estimated distance of gamma Cas and friends
[13] .

                   Tomorrow's picture: not easy being green

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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1810/IC59IC63crawford.jpg
  [3] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [4] http://www.imagingdeepsky.com/Contact.html
  [5] http://www.imagingdeepsky.com/
  [6] ap160318.html
  [7] http://www.imagingdeepsky.com/Nebulae/IC59_IC63/ IC59_IC63.htm
  [8] http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/129/2/954
  [9] https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.01419
  [10] https://www.aavso.org/vsots_gammacas
  [11] ap111013.html
  [12] ap091126.html
  [13] https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.04313
  [14] ap181025.html
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  [25] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
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  [27] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
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