Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Scorpius (Sco)
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The Dark Tower Nebula, Terry Robison
The Dark Tower Nebula
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The Dark Tower Nebula

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Dark Tower Nebula, Terry Robison
The Dark Tower Nebula
Powered byPixInsight

The Dark Tower Nebula

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Description

This ominous structure is the result of the perfect mixing of ingredients. The result look like areas that resemble dark cavities, large crescents of emission nebula, all against the back drop of an extremely dense star field. The structure is almost 40 light years across. The dark areas in the photo are composed from fine grains of interstellar dust. This dust and molecular gas are collapsing and forming stars within the dark nebula. The silhouette is striking when viewed against the dense star field near the constellation of Scorpius.

My favourite areas are the reflection nebula located near the top cone of the tower. They remind me of the Pleiades Nebula with that lovely blue light reflecting off the dust around the bright stars. There is a lot going on within the image. The dark areas within the dark nebula are star forming areas with many hot bright young stars (blue stars). Hydrogen gas is spread throughout the image. These are the red areas, and large arc or crescent located on the right side. The backdrop is a colourful and dense star field eclipsed by find dust, dark nebula, reflective nebula, and emission nebula.

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