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 September 7
    [2]A busy starfield is dominated by red and blue glowing gas and dark
     filamentary dust. The nebula appears to some to have the shape of a
     pelican. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                 The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars
                  Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Mark Killion

   Explanation: The Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed. IC 5070
   (an official designation) is divided from the larger [4]North America
   Nebula by a [5]molecular cloud filled with dark [6]dust. The deep
   [7]featured picture from [8]Utah, [9]USA incorporates 25 hours of
   exposure and brings out great details of this [10]filamentary dust. The
   [11]Pelican Nebula receives much study because it is a particularly
   active mix of [12]star formation and evolving gas clouds. The light
   from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the cold gas to hot
   gas, with the [13]advancing boundary between the two, known as an
   [14]ionization front, visible in bright orange on the upper right.
   Particularly dense [15]tentacles of cold gas remain. Millions of years
   from now, the [16]Pelican Nebula, bounded by dark nebula [17]LDN 935,
   might no longer be known as the Pelican, as the [18]balance and
   placement of stars and gas will surely leave something that appears
   [19]completely different.

       APOD's main NASA site is [20]moving: From [21]apod.nasa.gov to
                          [22]science.nasa.gov/apod
                    Tomorrow's picture: geometric Saturn
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    Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([37]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [38]Specific rights apply.
            [39]NASA Web Privacy, [40]Accessibility, [41]Notices;
                A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC,
                         [45]NASA Science Activation
                           & [46]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2609/Pelican_Killion_4800.jpg
   3. https://www.pop-imagery.com/about
   4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000501.html
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230129.html
   6. https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/stardust/interstellardust.cfm
   7. https://app.astrobin.com/u/Mark49?i=6shkl0
   8. https://youtu.be/8gbIf3sOifs
   9. https://user.iiasa.ac.at/~marek/fbook/04/print/us.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171114.html
  11. https://unsplash.com/photos/white-pelican-on-brown-sand-near-body-of-water-during-daytime-hLauNzLijs8
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180205.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031013.html
  15. https://unsplash.com/photos/an-orange-and-white-octopus-on-a-black-background-nG2Hr2QwtP4
  16. https://youtu.be/_YEyzvtMx3s
  17. https://www.astrobin.com/co5g86/B/?nc=group&nce=144
  18. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ApJ...239..121B/abstract
  19. https://unsplash.com/photos/a-cat-wearing-glasses-and-a-jacket-on-a-rug-nzfEUQrZZGc
  20. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=45023
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/apod
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260906.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  29. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260907
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260908.html
  34. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  35. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  36. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  42. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  45. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  46. http://www.mtu.edu/