Hello! Astronomy Picture of the Day - February 21st, 2020
Today's video is about LDN 1622: Dark Nebula in Orion
The silhouette of an intriguing dark nebula inhabits this cosmic scene
Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible in long telescopic exposures of the region
In contrast, the brighter reflection nebula vdB 62 is more easily seen, just above and right of center
LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close on the sky to Barnard's Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword 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 1 degree wide field of view would span about 30 light-years
Young stars do lie hidden within the dark expanse and have been revealed in Spitzer Space telescope infrared images
Still, the foreboding visual appearance of LDN 1622 inspires its popular name, the Boogeyman Nebula
Thanks for watching! and don't forget to like, comment, and share!
