Barnard's Merope Nebula (IC 349)

by: Nasa/Hubble heritage team/Novapix
Reference: a-aou90-00100
Date: 2006-05-07

This ghostly apparition is actually an interstellar cloud caught in the process of destruction by strong radiation from a nearby hot star. This picture, snapped by the Hubble telescope, shows a cloud illuminated by light from the bright star Merope. Located in the Pleiades star cluster, the cloud is called IC 349 or Barnard's Merope Nebula.

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