M8, M20 and the NGC 6559 nebulae
auteur: Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin Images/Novapix
référence: a-neb65-23052
Image Size 300 DPI: 51 * 40 cm
The dust clouds of the Milky Way are mostly dark, as is evident from a normal camera view of this part of the sky. The dark clouds contain gas and dust and are tightly constrained to the plane of the Milky Way. The dust hosts simple compounds that have condensed on the tiny grains and these molecules can be detected by radio telescopes. However, here and there stars have formed, lighting up the darkness. The main nebulae here can be seen with the unaided eye and were catalogued by Charles Messier over 200 years ago.