                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                               2022 January 20

                             NGC 7822 in Cepheus
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Carter

   Explanation: Hot, young stars and cosmic pillars of gas and dust seem
   to crowd into NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward
   the northern constellation Cepheus, the glowing star forming region
   lies about 3,000 light-years away. Within the nebula, bright edges and
   dark shapes stand out in this colorful telescopic skyscape. The image
   includes data from narrowband filters, mapping emission from atomic
   oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green, and red hues. The
   emission line and color combination has become well-known as the Hubble
   palette. The atomic emission is powered by energetic radiation from the
   central hot stars. Their powerful winds and radiation sculpt and erode
   the denser pillar shapes and clear out a characteristic cavity
   light-years across the center of the natal cloud. Stars could still be
   forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse but as the pillars
   are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cutoff from their
   reservoir of star stuff. This field of view spans about 40 light-years
   at the estimated distance of NGC 7822.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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