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. 2022 October 26 [2]The featured image shows the Cocoon Nebula on the right in white and red in a glowing red background with a trail of brown dust on the right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Cocoon Nebula Wide Field Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Andy Ermolli Explanation: When does a nebula look like a comet? [4]In this crowded starfield, covering over two degrees within the high flying constellation of the Swan ([5]Cygnus), the eye is drawn to the Cocoon Nebula. A compact star forming region, [6]the cosmic Cocoon punctuates a nebula bright in [7]emission and [8]reflection on the left, with a long trail of interstellar dust clouds to the right, making the entire complex appear a bit [9]like a comet. Cataloged as [10]IC 5146, the central bright head of the nebula spans about 10 [11]light years, while the dark [12]dusty tail spans nearly 100 light years. Both are located about 2,500 light years away. The bright star near the bright nebula's center, likely [13]only a few hundred thousand years old, supplies power to the nebular glow as it helps [14]clear out a cavity in the [15]molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas. The long dusty filaments of the tail, although dark in this [16]visible light image, are themselves hiding stars in the process of [17]formation, stars that [18]can be seen at [19]infrared wavelengths. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [20]< | [21]Archive | [22]Submissions | [23]Index | [24]Search | [25]Calendar | [26]RSS | [27]Education | [28]About APOD | [29]Discuss | [30]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell ([34]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [35]Specific rights apply. [36]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC, [40]NASA Science Activation & [41]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2210/CocoonWide_Ermolli_5937.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/andyermolli/ 4. https://www.instagram.com/p/CjSK4HAuZEd/ 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_%28constellation%29 6. http://www.universetoday.com/15412/the-cosmic-cocoon-ic-5146-by-tom-v-davis/ 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_nebula 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_nebula 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211230.html 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_5146 11. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/ 12. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain 13. https://cdn.petcarerx.com/blog/wp-content-uploads-2015-07-surprise-dog.jpg 14. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2002AJ....123..304H 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201122.html 16. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight 17. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110819.html 19. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221025.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 29. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221026 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221027.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 40. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 41. http://www.mtu.edu/