Framing
a bright emission region, this telescopic view looks out along the plane of our
Milky Way Galaxy toward the nebula rich constellation Cygnus the Swan.
Popularly called the Tulip Nebula, the reddish glowing cloud of interstellar gas
and dust is also found in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless as
Sh2-101.
About 8,000 light-years distant and 70 light-years across the complex
and beautiful nebula blossoms at the center of this composite image.
Ultraviolet radiation from young energetic stars at the edge of the Cygnus OB3
association, including O star HDE 227018, ionizes the atoms and powers the
emission from the Tulip Nebula.
HDE 227018 is the bright star near the center
of the nebula. Also framed in the field of view is microquasar Cygnus X-1, one
of the strongest X-ray sources in planet Earth's sky.
Driven by powerful jets
from a black hole accretion disk, its fainter visible curved shock front lies
above and right, just beyond the cosmic Tulip's petals.
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