The Cone Nebula zzz
The Cone Nebula is an intense region of starbirth,
a chaotic place where new stars are born inside a natal cloud and recently born,
hot and massive stars buffet the nursery with intense radiation.
The nebula of gas and dust, lit by surrounding stars, is about 2,500 light-years away.
This image was made last month by amateur skywatcher Michael Gariepy with the help of a professional astronomer at a nightly observing program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. The program is designed to introduce total amateurs to the art and science of astronomy and astrophotography.
See a Hubble Space Telescope close-up of the Cone Nebula. Or learn more about the Kitt Peak program.
Credit: Michael Gariepy/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF
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