NGC 3576

9000 light years distant, The Statue of Liberty nebula’s distinctive shapes are formed by stellar winds from stars born in dark, dusty regions of space. 
Removing these stars with Starnet++ reveals swirling clouds of interacting gases.

Processed in Astro Pixel Processor & Photoshop CC 2019

Image selected as NASA/APOD 30th July, 2019

Silver Award (with Distinction) 2019 AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards

Gold Award 2019 AIPP Victorian Professional Photography Awards

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Statue of Liberty Nebula in Narrowband without stars
Statue of Liberty Nebula in Narrowband without stars

Capture Details

TelescopeSkywatcher/ Klaus Hemerichs Carbon Fibre 10" f4 Newtonian
CameraQSI 683 WSG8
MountTakahashi NJP
FiltersAstrodon 3nm Ha, O3 & S2
Guiding CameraStarlight Xpress Lodestar X2
Integration time (Exposure)10 hrs
LocationBurwood, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
DateMay 20, 2019

About this Nebula

What’s happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57, and besides the iconic monument, to some looks like a flying superhero or a weeping angel. By digitally removing the stars, this image showcases dense knots of dark interstellar dust, fields of glowing hydrogen gas ionized by these stars, and great loops of gas expelled by dying stars. A detailed study of NGC 3576, also known as NGC 3582 and NGC 3584, uncovered at least 33 massive stars in the end stages of formation, and the clear presence of the complex carbon molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are thought to be created in the cooling gas of star forming regions, and their development in the Sun’s formation nebula five billion years ago may have been an important step in the development of life on Earth. (Apod)

About APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is originated, written, coordinated, and edited since 1995 by Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell. The APOD archive contains the largest collection of annotated astronomical images on the internet.

APOD in general and the APOD site served from NASA specifically places links solely on information content and does not endorse any commercial product nor guarantee claims or sales made on any linked pages.
In real life, Bob and Jerry are two professional astronomers who spend most of their time researching the universe. Bob is a professor at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, USA, while Jerry is a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland USA. They are two married, mild and lazy guys who might appear relatively normal to an unsuspecting guest.

Together, they have found new and unusual ways of annoying people such as staging astronomical debates.

Apod selects images from the Hubble, Cassini Spacecraft, and the world’s top observatories.

A select few amateur astronomy images are occasionally featured. To have one’s image chosen by APOD/NASA is generally regarded as the highest honour for an amateur astrophotographer.

Weeping Angel

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Image selected as Image selected as NASA/APOD 30th July, 2019!