AAO image reference UKS 3a. « Previous || Next »
Top left is NE. Image width is about 47 arcmin
Image and text © 1979-2010, Australian Astronomical Observatory
Photograph from UK Schmidt plates by David Malin.
This dusty region in Sagittarius is probably associated with the brighter and better-known Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae which are nearby in the sky and part of the same molecular cloud. This wide angle view better shows the extent of the obscuring dust from the emission nebulae seen here have formed.
The soft red glow of fluorescent hydrogen is evidence that there are young hot stars associated with the dusty clouds. These bright stars also illuminate the tiny solid particles, producing blue reflection nebulae bordering some of the emission regions. The dust is also evident in silhouette, both as sinuous dark lanes winding through the luminous gas and as the dark patches obscuring the ancient, yellow stars that populate the central parts of the Milky Way.
Related images
UKS 3. NGC 6559 and IC 1274-75 in Sagittarius
UKS 5. The Lagoon nebula, M8
UKS 7. The Trifid nebula, M20
UKS 26. M8, M20 and the NGC 6559 region in Sagittarius
UKS 26a. M8, M20 and the NGC 6559 region in Sagittarius (wide field)
Constellation of Sagittarius (external site)
For details of object position and photographic exposure, search technical table by UKS reference number.