                        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 22
     The featured image shows a dark nebula complex involving thick dust
                      appearing brown and making a big

                           Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Chang Lee

   Explanation: Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an
   angular elegance. Such is the case toward the far-south constellation
   of Chamaeleon. Normally too faint to see, dark dust is best known for
   blocking visible light from stars and galaxies behind it. In this
   36.6-hour exposure, however, the dust is seen mostly in light of its
   own, with its strong red and near-infrared colors creating a brown hue.
   Contrastingly blue, the bright star Beta Chamaeleontis is visible on
   the upper right, with the dust that surrounds it preferentially
   reflecting blue light from its primarily blue-white color. All of the
   pictured stars and dust occur in our own Milky Way Galaxy with one
   notable exception: the white spot just below Beta Chamaeleontis is the
   galaxy IC 3104 which lies far in the distance. Interstellar dust is
   mostly created in the cool atmospheres of giant stars and dispersed
   into space by stellar light, stellar winds, and stellar explosions such
   as supernovas.

                    Tomorrow's picture: Chandra Crab (25)
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

