North America and Pelican Nebulae

A massive cloud of hydrogen gas encompasses a great area within the constellation Cygnus.  An intervening cloud of dust separates the great molecular cloud into two parts, one resembling North America (left) and the other resembling a pelican (right).  Two prominent stellar nurseries are found in this region, one at the Pelican’s neck and the other in an area known as the “Wall” where the Gulf of Mexico would be.  The Wall is also imaged in narrowband elsewhere in the gallery.