Astronomy Picture of the Day · October 18, 2009

The Star Pillars of Sharpless 171

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 18, 2009 is “The Star Pillars of Sharpless 171,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Nicolas Outters ( Observatoire d’Orange )). The original explanation runs about 150 words.

From the explanation

“Towering pillars of cold gas and dark dust adorn the center star forming region of Sharpless 171. An open cluster of stars is forming there from the gas in cold molecular clouds .”

— APOD editors, October 18, 2009

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: October 18, 2009
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Nicolas Outters ( Observatoire d’Orange )
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 150 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae Star clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 18 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, October 18, 2009 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2009-october-18-the-star-pillars-of-sharpless-171

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.