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 October 29
The Cepheus Flare: Haunting
Image Credit & Copyright: Leo Shatz
Explanation: These strange shapes appear to haunt the dusty expanse. They drift through the night in Cepheus' royal constellation. The shapes are actually cosmic dust clouds visible through dimly reflected starlight. They are far from your home, and lurk at the Cepheus Flare molecular clouds complex's edge. The Ghost Nebula is a ghostly apparition that measures over 2 light-years in size and shines brighter than many of the others. It can be seen to the right of the starry field. The nebula contains the signs of dense cores collapsing during the early stages in star formation. The Iris Nebula is distinguished by the dark to its left by the strange hue of dust that reflects bluish light from NGC 7023's young stars. These fertile interstellar fields of dust extend almost seven full moons across this telescopic frame.
