                        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 November 8

                         Helping Hand in Cassiopeia
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Francesco Radici

   Explanation: Drifting near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy these
   dusty molecular clouds seem to extend a helping hand on a cosmic scale.
   Part of a local complex of star-forming interstellar clouds they
   include LDN 1358, 1357, and 1355 from American astronomer Beverly
   Lynds' 1962 Catalog of Dark Nebulae. Presenting a challenging target
   for astro-imagers, the obscuring dark nebulae are nearly 3,000
   light-years away, toward rich starfields in the northern constellation
   Cassiopeia. At that distance, this deep, telescopic field of view would
   span about 80 light-years.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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