                        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.

                                2024 July 16
     A starfield is shown featuring many pillars of interstellar gas and
       dust, mostly in the center. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                              Cometary Globules
    Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson & Martin Pugh, Observatorio El
                                    Sauce

   Explanation: What are these unusual interstellar structures?
   Bright-rimmed, flowing shapes gather near the center of this rich
   starfield toward the borders of the nautical southern constellations
   Pupis and Vela. Composed of interstellar gas and dust, the grouping of
   light-year sized cometary globules is about 1300 light-years distant.
   Energetic ultraviolet light from nearby hot stars has molded the
   globules and ionized their bright rims. The globules also stream away
   from the Vela supernova remnant which may have influenced their
   swept-back shapes. Within them, cores of cold gas and dust are likely
   collapsing to form low mass stars, whose formation will ultimately
   cause the globules to disperse. In fact, cometary globule CG 30 (on the
   upper left) sports a small reddish glow near its head, a telltale sign
   of energetic jets from a star in the early stages of formation.

                      Tomorrow's picture: volcanic sky
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

