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 March 18
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           A Filament in Monoceros
               Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Giorgio Ferrari

   Explanation: Bluish reflection nebulae seem to fill this dusty expanse.
   The sharp [5]telescopic frame spans over 1 degree on the sky toward the
   faint but fanciful constellation [6]Monoceros, the Unicorn. Seen within
   the Monoceros R1 cloud complex some 2,500 light-years away, bluish IC
   447 is on the left, joined by a long dark filament of dust to IC 446 at
   lower right. Embedded in IC 447 are young, massive blue stars much
   hotter than the Sun, whose light is reflected by the cosmic cloud [7]of
   star stuff. Observations reveal that IC 446 also contains a [8]young
   stellar object, a massive star still in an early stage of evolution.
   [9]The dark filament of dust and molecular gas joining the two
   star-forming regions is over 15 light-years long.

                 Tomorrow's picture: 2MASS J17554042+6551277
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    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply.
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                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC
                           & [30]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2203/IC447_446GiorgioFerrari.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/GiorgioFerrari/
   5. https://www.astrobin.com/j5dpn5/
   6. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/monoceros.html
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210123.html
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-looks-at-light-and-dark-in-the-universe
   9. https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.13894
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220317.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220318
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220319.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. http://www.mtu.edu/