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   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           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.   
      
                                   2025 March 26   
      A starfield dominated by a large nebula is pictured. The center is blue   
       and the perimeter is red. Many dark dust pillars are visible. Please   
                see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                        Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula   
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Montilla (AAE)   
      
      Explanation: You'd think the Pacman Nebula would be eating stars, but   
      actually it is forming them. Within the nebula, a cluster's young,   
      massive stars are powering the pervasive nebular glow. The eye-catching   
      shapes looming in the featured portrait of NGC 281 are sculpted dusty   
      columns and dense Bok globules seen in silhouette, eroded by intense,   
      energetic winds and radiation from the hot cluster stars. If they   
      survive long enough, the dusty structures could also be sites of future   
      star formation. Playfully called the Pacman Nebula because of its   
      overall shape, NGC 281 is about 10,000 light-years away in the   
      constellation Cassiopeia. This sharp composite image was made through   
      narrow-band filters in Spain in mid 2024. It combines emissions from   
      the nebula's hydrogen and oxygen atoms to synthesize red, green, and   
      blue colors. The scene spans well over 80 light-years at the estimated   
      distance of NGC 281.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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