The North America Nebula, by mere coincidence,
bears a striking resemblance to the North American Continent, especially
the area around "Mexico". The nebula itself is many thousands of times
larger than the North American Continent, but it is light and wispy,
even more so than a cloud here on Earth. It is made of hydrogen and other
light gases, which glow by the light of nearby stars. It's uncertain at
this point which of the stars is powering this awesome display. Over time,
the nebula's shape will change. Who knows, perhaps in another 10,000 years
it will be called the South American Nebula!
The camera, unlike our eyes, is very sensitive to the hydrogen's red
glow. Surrounding the nebula are dense, bluish star clouds. This region is
the spine of the Milky Way, where the stars of our galaxy are most
concentrated. But there are "holes" in the stars, most noticeably to left
of the North America Nebula. These dark spots are caused by obscuring dust,
which lies between us and the background stars. The dust blocks our vision
of what's behind it- in the visible spectrum at least. Infrared and radio
telescopes can see through the dust to probe the mysteries that lie beyond.
Observer's Notes: The
North America Nebula is hard to observe visually. With the naked
eye, a bright patch of nebulosity can be seen east of Deneb, but it's hard to
make out any shape or structure. Binoculars begin to reveal the shape of the nebula, and a heck of a lot more stars!