Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2025 November 19 [2]The featured image shows a dark nebula complex involving thick dust appearing brown and making a big Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Xinran Li & [4]Houbo Zhao Explanation: Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance. Such is the case toward the far-south [5]constellation of Chamaeleon. Normally [6]too faint to see, dark dust is best known for blocking visible light from stars and galaxies behind it. In [7]this 11.4-hour exposure, however, [8]the dust is seen mostly in light of its own, with its strong red and near-[9]infrared colors creating a brown hue. Contrastingly blue, a bright star [10]Beta Chamaeleontis is visible on the upper right of the V, with the dust that surrounds it preferentially reflecting blue light from its primarily blue-white color. All of the pictured stars and dust occur in our own [11]Milky Way Galaxy with one [12]notable exception: a white spot just [13]below Beta Chamaeleontis is the galaxy [14]IC 3104, which lies far in the distance. [15]Interstellar dust is mostly created in the cool atmospheres of [16]giant stars and dispersed into space by stellar light, [17]stellar winds, and [18]stellar explosions such as [19]supernovas. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [20]< | [21]Archive | [22]Submissions | [23]Index | [24]Search | [25]Calendar | [26]RSS | [27]Education | [28]About APOD | [29]Discuss | [30]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell ([34]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [35]Specific rights apply. [36]NASA Web Privacy, [37]Accessibility, [38]Notices; A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC, [42]NASA Science Activation & [43]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2511/Chamaeleon_Houbo_3691.jpg 3. https://app.astrobin.com/u/Flying_Dutchman 4. mailto: 18395194506 at 163 dot com 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaeleon 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180628.html 7. https://app.astrobin.com/u/Flying_Dutchman?i=4g66o7 8. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/47807534932 9. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Chamaeleontis 11. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 12. https://static.onecms.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/09/28/startled-cat-5.jpg 13. http://www.werbeagentur.org/oldwexi/gallery.html 14. https://theskylive.com/sky/deepsky/ic3104-object 15. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stellar_explosion_types 19. https://www.science.org/content/article/interstellar-dust-may-come-supernovae-after-all 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251118.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 26. https://apod.com/feed.rss 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=251119 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251120.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 37. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 42. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 43. http://www.mtu.edu/