Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                               2026 January 22
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                       LDN 1622: Dark Nebula in Orion
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Chris Fellows

   Explanation: The silhouette of an intriguing [5]dark nebula inhabits
   [6]this cosmic scene. Lynds' Dark Nebula ([7]LDN) 1622 appears against
   a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible in long
   telescopic exposures of the region. In contrast, a brighter reflection
   nebula, [8]vdB 62, is more easily seen just above the dusty dark
   nebula. LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close on
   the sky to [9]Barnard's Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich
   complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword [10]of Orion.
   With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN 1622 is thought to
   lie at a similar distance, perhaps 1,500 light-years away. At that
   distance, this 3 degree wide field of view would span about 100
   light-years. [11]Young stars do lie hidden within the dark expanse and
   have been revealed in Spitzer Space telescope [12]infrared images.
   Still, the [13]foreboding visual appearance of LDN 1622 inspires its
   popular name, [14]the Boogeyman Nebula.

               Tomorrow's picture: the faint and mostly round
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply.
            [31]NASA Web Privacy, [32]Accessibility, [33]Notices;
                A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC,
                         [37]NASA Science Activation
                           & [38]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2601/ldn1622fellows.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://app.astrobin.com/u/SliverSnake#gallery
   5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_nebula
   6. https://app.astrobin.com/u/SliverSnake?i=0wg4a0#gallery
   7. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1962ApJS....7....1L/abstract
   8. https://www.emilivanov.com/CCD Images/Catalog_VdB.htm
   9. http://www.messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/b-loop.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101023.html
  11. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AJ....137.3843B/abstract
  12. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-L1622-cloud-as-seen-by-Spitzer-36-m-blue-8-m-green-and-24-m-red-Emission_fig10_235684871
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogeyman#/media/File:Francisco_de_Goya,_Que_viene_el_coco_(Here_Comes_the_Bogey-Man),_published_1799,_NGA_7459.jpg
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230125.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260121.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260122
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260123.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  37. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  38. http://www.mtu.edu/