Stars and Dust Pillars in NGC 7822 from
WISE
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
Hot, young stars and cosmic pillars of gas
and dust seem to crowd into NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation
Cepheus, this glowing star forming region lies about 3,000 light-years
away.
Within the nebula, bright edges and
complex dust sculptures dominate this detailed skyscape taken in infrared light by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey
Explorer (WISE)
satellite.
The atomic emission by the cluster's gas
is powered by energetic radiation from the hot
stars, whose powerful winds and light also sculpt
and erode the denser pillar shapes.
Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational
collapse, but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will
ultimately be cut off from their reservoir of star stuff.
This field spans around 40 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 7822.
