APOD: 2022 September 1 - The Tulip and Cygnus X-1

Good evening, Rallypoint, and welcome to the September 1st edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "The Tulip and Cygnus X-1." Both are in the constellation Cygnus (The Swan). Also known as Sharpless 101, the Tulip Nebula is an emission nebula catalogued by astronomer Stewart Sharpless in his 1959 catalog of nebulae. It lies at a distance of about 6,000 light-years from Earth.

The Tulip Nebula is in close proximity to microquasar Cygnus X-1, site of one of the first suspected black holes. Remember how relativistic jets are associated with black holes? That arc you see on the right of this image is a shock wave from the jets emerging from Cygnus X-1.