NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
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.


2024 November 8





 

 Explanation:  

Drifting near
the plane of our Milky Way galaxy
these dusty molecular clouds seem to extend a helping hand
on a cosmic scale.

Part of a
local complex
of star-forming interstellar clouds
they include LDN 1358, 1357, and 1355
from American astronomer
Beverly Lynds' 1962
Catalog of Dark Nebulae.

Presenting a
challenging target
for astro-imagers, the
obscuring dark nebulae are nearly 3,000 light-years away,
toward rich starfields in the northern constellation
Cassiopeia.

At that distance, this deep, telescopic field of view would
span about 80 light-years.

