D. Heilman Astrophotography

NGC6820

This unnamed nebula surrounds the open star cluster NGC6823 in the constellation of Vulpecula, near Cygnus. The young stars in the core are estimated at no more than two million years old and have carved out a dramatic set of dust pillars that populate the nebula.  Radiation from the core sweeps sparsely distributed dust away leaving only the dense gas and dust associated with the next generation of star birth, the pillars.  The stars that likely populate these pillars are even younger than the stars at the core.