APOD: Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud (2022 Feb 17)

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APOD: Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud (2022 Feb 17)

Post by APOD Robot » Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:06 am

Image Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud

Explanation: Dark markings and bright nebulae in this telescopic southern sky view are telltale signs of young stars and active star formation. They lie a mere 650 light-years away, at the boundary of the local bubble and the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex. Regions with young stars identified as dusty reflection nebulae from the 1946 Cederblad catalog include the C-shaped Ced 110 just above and left of center, and bluish Ced 111 below it. Also a standout in the frame, the orange tinted V-shape of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula (Cha IRN) was carved by material streaming from a newly formed low-mass star. The well-composed image spans 1.5 degrees. That's about 17 light-years at the estimated distance of the nearby Chamaeleon I molecular cloud.

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Re: APOD: Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud (2022 Feb 17)

Post by Ann » Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:17 am

Chamaeleon_RobertEder1024[1].jpg
Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud. Image Credit & Copyright:
Acquisition: Stas Volskiy (Chilescope.com), Processing: Robert Eder

Today's APOD reminds me of the APOD of January 17, 2022, which also featured clouds of Chameleon.

I found this image by Gerald Wechselberger to link the two APODs. Note Epsilon Chameleon at left, and Cederblad 110 and 111 at upper right:


Molecular clouds in Chameleon Gerald Wechselberger.png

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Re: APOD: Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud (2022 Feb 17)

Post by AVAO » Thu Feb 17, 2022 9:41 am

Seems to be a dangerous area regarding the weather, with many cosmic tornados ;-)

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070811.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/6963253086

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Re: APOD: Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud (2022 Feb 17)

Post by orin stepanek » Thu Feb 17, 2022 1:15 pm

Chamaeleon_RobertEder.jpg
A pretty photo! Am curious about it's name! :roll:
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Re: APOD: Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud (2022 Feb 17)

Post by De58te » Thu Feb 17, 2022 3:26 pm

orin stepanek wrote: Thu Feb 17, 2022 1:15 pm Chamaeleon_RobertEder.jpg

A pretty photo! Am curious about it's name! :roll:
In his star atlas of 1603, Johann Bayer sketched the Chamaeleon constellation based on descriptions by early sailors to the southern seas. It is bounded to the east by the constellation Musca (the fly). Bayer could see that the fly was being eaten by a "chamaeleon", hence the origin of the name.