                        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 December 19
   The featured image shows a glowing star forming region rich in glowing
    gas and dark dust. Two dusty pillars on the right resemble tadpoles.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                     The Tadpole Nebula in Gas and Dust
         Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Stocks (Utah Desert Remote
                               Observatories)

   Explanation: What's causing the commotion in the Tadpole Nebula? Star
   formation. Dusty emission in the Tadpole Nebula, IC 410, lies about
   12,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of the Charioteer
   (Auriga). The cloud of glowing gas is over 100 light-years across,
   sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from embedded open star cluster
   NGC 1893. Formed in the interstellar cloud a mere 4 million years ago,
   bright newly formed cluster stars are seen all around the star-forming
   nebula. Notable on the lower-right of the featured image are two
   relatively dense streamers of material trailing away from the nebula's
   central regions. Potentially sites of ongoing star formation in IC 410,
   these cosmic tadpole shapes are about 10 light-years long. The image
   was processed highlighting the emission from sulfur (red), hydrogen
   (green), and oxygen (blue) gas -- but with the stars digitally removed.

                        Tomorrow's picture: Big Thor
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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