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 February 21
A red nebula in a dark starry sky is seen above a rocky
peak. The nebula appears similar to a flying bird.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Seagull Nebula over Pinnacles' Peak
Image Credit & Copyright: Dheera Venkatraman

Explanation: The bird is bigger than the peak. Nicknamed for its fowl shape, the Seagull Nebula is an emission nebula on the night sky that is vast, spanning an angle over five times the diameter of the full moon and over 200 light years. The head of the nebula is catalogued as IC 2177, and the star cluster under its right wing is catalogued as NGC 2343. Consisting of mostly red-glowing hydrogen gas, the Seagull Nebula incorporates some dust lanes and is forming stars. The peak over which this Seagull seems to soar occurs at Pinnacles National Park in California, USA. The featured image is a composite of long exposure images of the background sky, and short exposure images of the foreground, all taken consecutively with the same camera and from the same location.

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