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. 2024 August 22 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. The Dark Tower in Scorpius Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Mike Selby Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star field along the tail of the arachnological constellation [5]Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an [6]ominous dark tower. In fact, monstrous clumps of dust and molecular gas [7]collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this [8]gorgeous telescopic portrait. A [9]cometary globule, the swept-back cloud is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the [10]OB association of very [11]hot stars in NGC 6231, off the upper right corner of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's bordering reddish glow of [12]hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish [13]reflection nebulae. This dark tower and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away. Growing Gallery: [14]Moon Eclipses Saturn in August 2024 Tomorrow's picture: a dark pulsar __________________________________________________________________ [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: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply. [31]NASA Web Privacy, [32]Accessibility Notices A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC, [36]NASA Science Activation & [37]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2408/DarkTowerCDK700-Selby.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://throughlightandtime.com/about/ 5. http://hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sco/index.html 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childe_Roland_to_the_Dark_Tower_Came 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210630.html 8. https://throughlightandtime.com/dark-tower-cdk-700-ii-lrgb-ha-rev-1-30-july-2024/ 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240716.html 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_association#Types 11. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2018/ngc6231/index.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051223.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap011228.html 14. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.494549516606964&type=3 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240821.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=240822 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240823.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://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 36. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 37. http://www.mtu.edu/