North America nebula. True-colour optical image of the North America nebula (NGC 7000). This large nebula is about 3000 light years away, and lies in
North America nebula. True-colour optical image of the North America nebula (NGC 7000). This large nebula is about 3000 light years away, and lies in the constellation Cygnus. It is composed mainly of hydrogen gas, which glows due to ionisation by radiation from a young, hot and massive star at the nebula's heart. Hot massive stars live for a relatively short time, so such nebulae are usually of recent origin. The North America nebula is believed to be around 10 million years old. To the right of this nebula is part of the Pelican nebula (IC 5067-5070). This image was produced by digitally combining photographs taken by the Palomar Schmidt Telescope in blue and red light.
Size: 3514px × 3543px
Photo credit: © CELESTIAL IMAGE CO./SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 5067-5070, 7000, america, astronomy, birth, cosmology, evolution, formation, ic, imag, nebula, ngc, north, palomar, pelican, schmidt, science, star, starbirth, stellar, telescope
