APOD: 2020 January 12 - Stars and Dust in Corona Australis

Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Stars and Dust in Corona Australis." These reflection nebulae in Corona Australis are the result of a few bright stars caught up in a large, dusty cloud. The peculiar colorful curved streak near the two bright reflection nebulae surrounds an intriguing object best seen in infrared light: a young star still accreting interstellar material on to its surface. These compact nebulae are ejected from proto-stars during the later stages of star formation and sometimes appear in pairs, moving in opposite directions from the hidden star-forming region. This complex is about 500 light years distant near the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius (which means we get to see it in summer, not now), one of the nearest star-forming regions.