                        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 October 11

            Stars, Dust, Pillars, and Jets in the Pelican Nebula
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Adriano Almeida

   Explanation: What dark structures arise within the Pelican Nebula? On
   the whole, the nebula appears like a bird (a pelican) and is seen
   toward the constellation of a different bird: Cygnus, a Swan. But
   inside, the Pelican Nebula is a place lit up by new stars and befouled
   by dark dust. Smoke-sized dust grains start as simple carbon compounds
   formed in the cool atmospheres of young stars but are dispersed by
   stellar winds and explosions. Two impressive Herbig-Haro jets are seen
   emitted by the star HH 555 on the right, and these jets are helping to
   destroy the light year-long dust pillar that contains it. Other pillars
   and jets are also visible. The featured image was
   scientifically-colored to emphasize light emitted by small amounts of
   heavy elements in a nebula made predominantly of the light elements
   hydrogen and helium. The Pelican Nebula (IC 5067 and IC 5070) is about
   2,000 light-years away and can be found with a small telescope to the
   northeast of the bright star Deneb.

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