Pelican Nebula in Transition: Ionization Fronts and Star Formation Illuminated
APOD presents a deep-exposure image of the Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) showing active star formation where newborn stars ionize surrounding gas, creating a bright ionization front amid dark dust filaments. The Utah-shot 25-hour image highlights the boundary with cold gas and dust (bounded by dark nebula LDN 935) near the North America Nebula, with the nebula's appearance expected to evolve over millions of years as gas and stars rearrange.