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 September 25 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Yannick Akar Explanation: The Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed. IC 5070, the official designation, is divided from the larger [4]North America Nebula by a [5]molecular cloud filled with dark [6]dust. The [7]Pelican, however, receives much study because it is a particularly active mix of [8]star formation and evolving gas clouds. The [9]featured picture was produced in three specific colors -- light emitted by [10]sulfur, [11]hydrogen, and [12]oxygen -- that can help us to better understand these interactions. The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the cold gas to hot gas, with the [13]advancing boundary between the two, known as an [14]ionization front, visible in bright orange on the right. Particularly dense [15]tentacles of cold gas remain. Millions of years from now this nebula might no longer be known as the [16]Pelican, as the [17]balance and placement of stars and gas will surely leave something that appears completely different. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1909/Pelican_Akar_4554.jpg 3. https://www.astrobin.com/users/dotmod/ 4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000501.html 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141214.html 6. http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/stardust/interstellardust.cfm 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1jUJQyzv8M 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120722.html 9. https://www.astrobin.com/421162/B/ 10. http://periodic.lanl.gov/16.shtml 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen 12. http://www.chemicool.com/elements/oxygen.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180205.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031013.html 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tentacle#/media/File:Snail-front-0A.jpg 16. http://apod.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?tquery=Pelican 17. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ApJ...239..121B/abstract 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190924.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190925 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190926.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 38. http://www.mtu.edu/