ABC Wednesday

The letter this week is N, which stands for Nebula

Stellar Spire in the Eagle Nebula

Appearing like a winged fairy-tale creature poised on a pedestal, this object is actually a billowing tower of cold gas and dust rising from a stellar nursery called the Eagle Nebula.  The soaring tower is 9.5 light years, or about 90 trillion kilometres high, about twice the distance from our Sun to the nearest star.

Stars in the Eagle Nebula are born in clouds of cold hydrogen gas that reside in chaotic neighbourhoods where energy from young stasrs sculpts fantasy-like landscapes in the gas.  The tower may be a giant incubator tor those newborn stars.  A torrent of ultraviolet light from a band of massive, hot, young stars is presently eroding 

this fabulous pillar..information from the internet

.A great place to go to see and explore heavenly creations such as this amazing nebula is The Galaxy Zoo, and a visit to this link will introduce you to a tutorial on ways to assist astronomers  in their discovery of the great array of fabulous objects in our universe.  


For other great interpretations of the letter N take the space ship over to ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her kindly crew of helpers.