Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2019 April 13
                                      [2]
                      Rigil Kentaurus and Sandqvist 169
             Image Credit & Copyright [3] : Roberto Colombari [4]

Explanation: Rigil Kentaurus [5]  is the bright star near the top of this
broad southern skyscape. Of course it's probably better known as Alpha
Centauri [6] , nearest star system to the Sun. Below it sprawls a dark nebula
complex [7] . The obscuring interstellar dust clouds include Sandqvist catalog
[8]  clouds 169 and 172 in silhouette against the rich starfields along the
southern Milky Way. Rigil Kent is a mere [9]  4.37 light-years away, but the
dusty dark nebulae lie at the edge of the starforming Circinus-West [10]
molecular cloud about 2,500 light-years distant. The wide-field of view [11]
spans over 12 degrees (24 full moons) across southern skies.

                 Tomorrow's picture: horizon to event horizon

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [23] (MTU [24] ) & Jerry Bonnell [25]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1904/sandqvist169_colombari.jpg
  [3] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [4] https://www.facebook.com/roberto.colombari
  [5] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/
alpha-centauri-our-nearest-star-system-just-got-new-name
  [6] ap120628.html
  [7] https://astrodonimaging.com/gallery/sandqvist...
  [8] https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1977A%26A..... abstract
  [9] https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.03495
  [10] https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw142...
  [11] https://www.astrobin.com/372222/0/?nc=
  [12] ap190412.html
  [13] archivepix.html
  [14] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [15] lib/aptree.html
  [16] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [17] calendar/allyears.html
  [18] /apod.rss
  [19] lib/edlinks.html
  [20] lib/about_apod.html
  [21] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [22] ap190414.html
  [23] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [24] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [25] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [26] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [27] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [28] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [29] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [30] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [31] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [32] http://www.mtu.edu/

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