                        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.

                                2023 March 14
    A red tinged nebula is shown in front of a starfield. Dust structures
      appear around the nebula's edge, and stars are also seen near the
        nebula's center. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                             W5: The Soul Nebula
              Image Credit & Copyright: José Jiménez (Astromet)

   Explanation: Stars are forming in the Soul of the Queen of Aethopia.
   More specifically, a large star forming region called the Soul Nebula
   can be found in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia, whom
   Greek mythology credits as the vain wife of a King who long ago ruled
   lands surrounding the upper Nile river. Also known as Westerhout 5
   (W5), the Soul Nebula houses several open clusters of stars, ridges and
   pillars darkened by cosmic dust, and huge evacuated bubbles formed by
   the winds of young massive stars. Located about 6,500 light years away,
   the Soul Nebula spans about 100 light years and is usually imaged next
   to its celestial neighbor the Heart Nebula (IC 1805). The featured
   image is a composite of exposures made in different colors: red as
   emitted by hydrogen gas, yellow as emitted by sulfur, and blue as
   emitted by oxygen.

                    Tomorrow's picture: planets converge
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