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. 2023 September 8 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Star Factory Messier 17 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Kim Quick, [5]Terry Hancock, and [6]Tom Masterson ([7]Grand Mesa Observatory) Explanation: [8]Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, the star factory known as [9]Messier 17 lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation [10]Sagittarius. At that distance, this 1/3 degree wide field of view spans over 30 light-years. [11]The sharp composite, color image highlights faint details of the region's gas and dust clouds against a backdrop of central [12]Milky Way stars. Stellar winds and energetic light from hot, massive stars formed from M17's stock of cosmic gas and dust have slowly carved away at the remaining interstellar material, producing the cavernous appearance and [13]undulating shapes. [14]M17 is also known as the Omega Nebula or the Swan Nebula. Tomorrow's picture: large galaxy cloud __________________________________________________________________ [15]< | [16]Archive | [17]Submissions | [18]Index | [19]Search | [20]Calendar | [21]RSS | [22]Education | [23]About APOD | [24]Discuss | [25]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell ([29]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply. [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC, [35]NASA Science Activation & [36]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/OmegaNebulaGrandMesaObservatory2023.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. mailto: kimquick79 [at] gmail [dot] com 5. https://www.downunderobservatory.com/ 6. https://www.transientastronomer.com/ 7. https://www.grandmesaobservatory.com/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030821.html 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_17 10. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sgr/index.html 11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/transientastro/53148661858/ 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130531.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040828.html 14. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1972-ssc2008-21a1-M17-Celestial-Sea-of-Stars 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230907.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230908 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230909.html 26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 33. https://www.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 36. http://www.mtu.edu/