READER GALLERY
72 ASTRONOMY • MARCH 2020
- DARK FINGERS
LDN 673 is a complex of dark
nebulosity in the constellation
Aquila the Eagle. This
material, a combination of
dust and cold hydrogen, blots
out the light of stars and
nebulae behind it. Eventually,
it will collapse to form stars.
- Michael Israel
- NOTABLY OBSCURE
NGC 4390 is a spiral galaxy
in the constellation Virgo
the Maiden. It lies 80 million
light-years away. The faint
halo (with some shell-like
enhancements) surrounding
this galaxy is due to galactic
star streams: Some other
small galaxy was torn apart,
and now its pieces form NGC
4390’s halo of stars.
- Adam Block/Mount
Lemmon SkyCenter/
University of Arizona
- NICE CATCH
A Perseid meteor streaks by
the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
on the night of August 12,
2019, from Soomaa National
Park in Estonia. The
photographer took and
stacked 255 exposures of
M31 at 30 seconds each; one
captured the meteor.
- Viljam Takis
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