NGC 6559 facts for kids
NGC 6559 is a fascinating place in space where brand new stars are being born! It's like a cosmic nursery for stars. This special area is found in the constellation called Sagittarius, which looks a bit like a teapot in the night sky.
NGC 6559 is super far away from earth – about 5,000 light years. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, which is a very long way! This star-forming region stretches about 7 light-years across. It is a thick cloud made of dust and gas, which actually hides many other stars behind it.
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What is NGC 6559?
NGC 6559 is known as a star-forming region. This means it's a part of space where huge clouds of gas and dust start to collapse under their own gravity. As these clouds get denser and hotter, new stars begin to light up inside them. It's a very active and exciting place in the universe!
Where is NGC 6559 located?
You can find NGC 6559 in the constellation of Sagittarius. This constellation is one of the 12 zodiac constellations. It is often pictured as an archer, but many people think it looks more like a teapot. Sagittarius is best seen in the summer sky in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also where the center of our own Milky Way galaxy is located!
How do stars form in NGC 6559?
NGC 6559 is mainly a dense cloud of dust and gas. These clouds are the building blocks for new stars. Here is how it works:
- Gravity pulls: Tiny bits of dust and gas in the cloud slowly start to pull together because of gravity.
- Cloud shrinks: As more material gathers, the cloud gets smaller and denser.
- Heat builds up: The shrinking cloud gets hotter and hotter in its center.
- Star is born: When the center gets hot enough, a new star is born and starts to shine brightly!
This process takes millions of years. The dust in NGC 6559 is so thick that it blocks the light from stars behind it. This makes it look like a dark patch against the bright background of the Milky Way.
Types of Nebulae in NGC 6559
NGC 6559 is a mix of different types of space clouds, called nebulae.
- Emission Nebulae: These nebulae glow with their own light. This happens because hot, young stars inside them give off a lot of energy. This energy makes the gas in the nebula light up, often in beautiful red or pink colors.
- Reflection Nebulae: These nebulae don't make their own light. Instead, they reflect the light from nearby stars. They often look blue because starlight scatters off the tiny dust particles within the cloud. It's similar to how Earth's sky looks blue because of sunlight scattering off our atmosphere.
NGC 6559 shows us both of these amazing types of nebulae. This makes it a great place for scientists to study how stars and planets are made.
