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 22
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                       NGC 1499: The California Nebula
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: Stephen Kennedy

   Explanation: Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way
   Galaxy, [4]this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California
   on the west coast of the United States. Our own [5]Sun also lies within
   the Milky Way's [6]Orion Arm, only about 1,500 light-years from the
   [7]California Nebula. Also known as [8]NGC 1499, the classic emission
   nebula is around 100 light-years long. The California Nebula shines
   with the telltale reddish glow characteristic of hydrogen atoms
   recombining with [9]long lost electrons. The electrons have been
   stripped away, ionized by energetic starlight. Most likely providing
   the [10]energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the
   bright, hot star [11]Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A
   popular target for astrophotographers, this deep image reveals the
   [12]glowing nebula, obscuring dust, and stars across a 3 degree
   [13]wide field of view. The California nebula lies toward the
   constellation [14]Perseus, not far from the [15]Pleiades.

                     Tomorrow's picture: strange planet
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    Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([30]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [31]Specific rights apply.
              [32]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC,
                         [36]NASA Science Activation
                           & [37]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2210/20221011NGC1499CaliforniaNebula4096.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/nebulae/ngc1499.html
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140506.html
   6. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/5000lys.html
   7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Nebula
   8. http://spider.seds.org/spider/Misc/n1499.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/lament.html
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves
  11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Persei
  12. https://arxiv.org/abs/0908.0646
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090411.html
  14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseus_%28constellation%29
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131122.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221021.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  25. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221022
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221023.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  36. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  37. http://www.mtu.edu/