Astronomy Picture Of The Day Explore the cosmos Every day, a new image or photograph of the fascinating universe is presented along with a short explanation by an astronomer. 2021 July 29The Tulip and Cygnus X-1Image Credit & Copyright: Carlos UriarteExplanation: The telescopic view is tall and orients along the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy towards the Cygnus, a rich nebula. The Tulip Nebula is also known as the Brightest Glowing Cloud of Interstellar Gas and Dust. It was named by Stewart Sharpless in 1959's catalog as Sh2-101. Nearly 70 light years across, the beautiful and complex Tulip Nebula blooms at 8,000 light-years. This image is a Hubble palette picture that maps the glow of the sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen ions into the red, green and blue colors. The Tulip Nebula is powered by ultraviolet radiation from young, energetic stars near the Cygnus OB3 area. Microquasar Cygnus X-1 is also visible in the view. It is one of the strongest Xray sources on planet Earth. It is driven by powerful jets coming from a black-hole accretion disc. However, the fainter, bluish-curved shock front is barely visible, just above the cosmic Tulip's flowers near the top.
