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.

September 7, 1998
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

The Sky Towards Sagittarius
Credit and Copyright: D. Malin (AAO), AATB, UKS Telescope

Explanation: A variety of stars and nebulae can be found towards the constellation of Sagittarius. Dense fields of stars laced with dark lanes of dust crowd this region only a few degrees from the center of our Galaxy. Prominent nebulae include the red Lagoon Nebula (M8) in the lower right and the multicolored Trifid Nebula (M20) in the upper right. Recent high-resolution images of these nebulae show unusual features such as funnel-shaped clouds and proplyds that are not well understood.

Tomorrow's picture: A Cluster Too Far

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC
&: Michigan Tech. U.