2024年08月19日:IC 5146：茧状星云-（IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula） 2024年08月19日:IC 5146：茧状星云-（IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula）--原图下载{mtitle title="IC 5146：茧状星云"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Luis Romero Ventura说明: 茧状星云内有个正在形成的星团。直径将近15光年、编录号为IC 5146的茧状星云，座落在北半球夏季夜空的天鹅座方向约4,000光年远之处。如同其他的恒星形成区一样，这个位在一团不可见分子云边缘的星云，其内的氢气因受到炽热年轻恒星激发而发出泛红的辉光，而部分尘埃则因为反射星光而呈蓝色。事实上，位在星云中心附近、可能只有数百万年稚龄的亮星，除了激发星云发光之外，也在孕育恒星的分子云尘埃和气体里清出一个空穴。这幅总曝光时间长达48小时的极深空彩色影像，清楚呈现了这个满是尘埃的恒星形成区内部与周围的迷人特徵结构。{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Luis Romero VenturaExplanation: Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars.Cataloged asIC 5146, the beautifulnebula is nearly 15 light-years wide.Soaring high innorthern summer night skies,it's located some 4,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Like other star forming regions, it stands outin red, glowing, hydrogen gasexcited by young, hot stars,and dust-reflected starlightat the edge of an otherwise invisiblemolecular cloud. In fact, the bright star found near the center of this nebula is likelyonly a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as itclears out a cavity in the molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas.A 48-hour long integration resulted in thisexceptionally deep color view tracing tantalizing features within and surrounding the dustystellarnursery.

2024年06月25日:暗饰带星云-（The Dark Doodad Nebula） 2024年06月25日:暗饰带星云-（The Dark Doodad Nebula）--原图下载{mtitle title="暗饰带星云"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh & Rocco Sung说明: 天空中那怪异的棕色带状物是什么？在观测星团NGC 4372时，观测者常会注意到附近有一条绵延约3度的不寻常暗带。这条暗带，其实是有暗饰带星云之称的颀长分子云。而这张照片所呈现的暗饰带星云，横亘在一片多彩的富星场中央。这团星云的暗沉色泽，来自于能轻易散射可见光的高密度星际尘埃。照片左侧的模糊的泛白光斑就是球状星团NGC 4372，而星团右上方的泛蓝亮星则是苍蝇座γ。使用高倍率的双筒望远镜，可以在南天的苍蝇 座方向找到暗饰带星云。（Dark Doodad Nebula 暗饰带星云； “Doodad” 不知名的东西、那个什么东西.）{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="The Dark Doodad Nebula"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh & Rocco SungExplanation: What is that strange brown ribbon on the sky? When observing the star cluster NGC 4372, observers frequently take note of an unusual dark streak nearby running about three degrees in length.The streak, actually a long molecular cloud, has become known as the Dark Doodad Nebula. (Doodad is slang for a thingy or a whatchamacallit.) Pictured here, the Dark Doodad Nebula sweeps across the center of a rich and colorful starfield. Its dark color comes from a high concentration of interstellar dust that preferentially scatters visible light. The globular star cluster NGC 4372 is visible as the fuzzy white spot on the far left, while the bright blue star gamma Muscae is seen to the cluster's upper right.The Dark Doodad Nebula can be found with strong binoculars toward the southern constellation of the Fly (Musca).

2023年11月27日:LBN 86：鹰魟星云-（LBN 86: The Eagle Ray Nebula） 2023年11月27日:LBN 86：鹰魟星云-（LBN 86: The Eagle Ray Nebula）--原图下载{mtitle title="LBN 86：鹰魟星云"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Vikas Chander说明: 这只鹰魟在宇宙海里滑翔。这个由气体和尘埃组成、编录号为SH2-63和LBN 86的暗星云，恰巧形似常见的海鱼。这团星际尘埃星云之所以是浅棕色的，则是因为它遮挡并红化了来自后方的可见光。暗星云的主要发光波段在红外光，但也会反射周围恒星的可见光。暗星云内的尘埃，通常是次毫米大小的粒状碳、硅和氧，外面则包覆着冻结的一氧化碳和氮。暗星云亦称为分子云，因为它们拥有相对丰富的分子 氢及大分子。这团先前未命名，如今有鹰魟暱称的星云，通常很昏暗，但是在这幅摄于智利 幽暗天空下、曝光时间超过20小时的影像里，其身影变得很清晰。（eagle ray 鹰魟 鹞鲼）{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="LBN 86: The Eagle Ray Nebula"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Vikas ChanderExplanation: This eagle ray glides across a cosmic sea. Officially cataloged as SH2-63 and LBN 86, the dark nebula is composed of gas and dust that just happens to appear shaped like a common ocean fish. The interstellar dust nebula appears light brown as it blocks and reddens visible light emitted behind it.Dark nebulas glow primarily in infrared light, but also reflect visible light from surrounding stars.The dust in dark nebulas is usually sub-millimeter chunks of carbon, silicon, and oxygen, frequently coated with frozen carbon monoxide and nitrogen. Dark nebulas are also known as molecular clouds because they also contain relatively high amounts of molecular hydrogen and larger molecules.Previously unnamed, the here dubbed Eagle Ray Nebula is normally quite dim but has been imaged clearly over 20-hours through dark skies in Chile.

2023年09月26日:IC 4592：蓝马头反射星云-（IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula） 2023年09月26日:IC 4592：蓝马头反射星云-（IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula）--原图下载{mtitle title="IC 4592：蓝马头反射星云"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Antoine & Dalia Grelin说明: 你看到马头了吗？你见到的不是猎户座着名的马头星云，而是另一个只有在较深空影像里，形似马头的外观才会显现的昏暗星云。这张影像所呈现的分子云複合体的主体，是编录号为IC 4592的反射星云。反射星云是由微小的尘埃所组成，正常情况下看起来很黝黑，不过如果它反射附近炽热恒星的可见光，色泽却可能变得很蓝。在上面这个案例里，大部分受到反射的星光，是源自位于马 眼的恒星。 这颗恒星是尾宿九（Nu Scorpii）的成员星之一，而尾宿九则是天蝎座数个明亮多合星系统之一。在影像的中右方，可以看见环拱着2颗恒星、名为IC 4601的第二个反射星云。{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Antoine & Dalia GrelinExplanation: Do you see the horse's head? What you are seeing is not the famous Horsehead nebula toward Orion, but rather a fainter nebula that only takes on a familiar form with deeper imaging. The main part of the here-imaged molecular cloud complex is reflection nebula IC 4592. Reflection nebulas are made up of very fine dust that normally appears dark but can look quite blue when reflecting the visible light of energetic nearby stars. In this case, the source of much of the reflected light is a star at the eye of the horse. That star is part of Nu Scorpii, one of the brighter star systems toward the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius). A second reflection nebula dubbed IC 4601 is visible surrounding two stars above and to the right of the image center.

2023年08月07日:鹈鹕星云的云气、尘埃与恆星-（The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars） 2023年08月07日:鹈鹕星云的云气、尘埃与恆星-（The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars）--原图下载{mtitle title="鹈鹕星云的云气、尘埃与恆星"/}Credit & Copyright: Abe Jones说明: 鹈鹕星云正慢慢变形之中。此星云正式的编录号为IC 5070，它和较大的北美洲星云，以一个满是黝黑尘埃的分子云相隔。因为鹈鹕星云是个特别活耀的恒星形成区和演化中气体云之混合体，故常成为天文研究的焦点。这张主题照片是一幅三色合成影像，分别记录了来自硫、氢与氧的光，以促进我们对恒星诞生区和星云之间交互作用的了解。来自年轻亮星的星光，正缓缓把冰冷的云气转变成炽热的气体，而两者之间称为电离前沿的分界，可见诸影像右侧的明亮橙红区域。然而，在此区域内仍有一些特别緻密的触鬚状冰冷云气残存下来。在数百万年之后，随着恒星与云气的平衡及位置改变，此星云的外观一定会截然不同，届时它可能不再是鹈鹕星云。{lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars"/}Credit & Copyright: Abe JonesExplanation: The Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed. IC 5070 (the official designation) is divided from the larger North America Nebula by a molecular cloud filled with dark dust. The Pelican, however, receives much study because it is a particularly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. The featured picture was produced in three specific colors -- light emitted by sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen -- that can help us to better understand these interactions. The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the cold gas to hot gas, with the advancing boundary between the two, known as an ionization front, visible in bright orange on the right.Particularly dense tentacles of cold gas remain. Millions of years from now, the Pelican nebula, bounded by dark nebula LDN 935, might no longer be known as the Pelican, as the balance and placement of stars and gas will surely leave something that appears completely different.

2023年06月14日:鲨鱼星云-（The Shark Nebula） 2023年06月14日:鲨鱼星云-（The Shark Nebula）--原图下载{mtitle title="鲨鱼星云"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Stephen Kennedy说明: 地球上没有海洋大到可以容下鲨鱼星云。不过，因为它是由星际气体和尘埃所构成的，因此这条幽灵般的猛兽对人类无害。这幅主题影像所呈现的黝黑尘埃，有点像雪茄烟雾，而且通常形成于巨星的低温大气里。这些尘埃与气体一同被排出，后来在重力的作用下聚成暗星云，而大质量恒星有时会以高能星光和高速恒星风为工具，在这些胎衣云上刻画出错综複杂的结构。恒星所散发的热除了会蒸发幽暗的分子云之外，也会激发周围的氢气发出泛红的辉光。在云气解体的过程中，类似地球天空中的水汽云，人类偶会在这些庞大星云里聨想到熟悉常见的事物。其内有数个小尘埃云（Lynds暗星云1235、Van den Bergh 149和150）的鲨鱼星云，位在北天的仙王座方向，大小约为15光年，距离则在650光年左右。(Shark nebula 鲨鱼星云){lamp/}原文：{mtitle title="The Shark Nebula"/}Image Credit & Copyright: Stephen KennedyExplanation: There is no sea on Earth large enough to contain the Shark nebula.This predator apparition poses us no danger as it is composed only of interstellar gas and dust.Dark dust like that featured here is somewhat like cigarette smoke and created in the cool atmospheres of giant stars.After being expelled with gas and gravitationally recondensing, massive stars may carve intricate structures into their birth cloud using their high energy light and fast stellar winds as sculpting tools. The heat they generate evaporates the murky molecular cloud as well as causing ambient hydrogen gas to disperse and glow red. During disintegration, we humans can enjoy imagining these great clouds as common icons, like we do for water clouds on Earth.Including smaller dust nebulae such as Lynds Dark Nebula 1235 and Van den Bergh 149 & 150, the Shark nebula spans about 15 light years and lies about 650 light years away toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus).