APOD: 2021 March 10 - NGC 1499: The California Nebula

Thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Wednesday, March 10, 2021 entitled NGC 1499: The California Nebula.

Image: NGC 1499 - The California Nebula - Image Credit & Copyright - Yannick Akar

APOD Background
Explanation: Could Queen Calafia's mythical island exist in space? Perhaps not, but by chance the outline of this molecular space cloud echoes the outline of the state of California, USA. Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. On the featured image, the most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, the California Nebula can be spotted with a wide-field telescope under a dark sky toward the constellation of Perseus, not far from the Pleiades."

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California [Official Music Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb5aq5HcS1A

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen LTC (Join to see) SCPO Morris Ramsey MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Sgt Albert Castro PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSG Stephen Rogerson SSG Samuel Kermon SSG Franklin Briant SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson SMSgt David A Asbury A1C Riley Sanders SSG William Jones CPT (Join to see) SGM Bill Frazer

there's most likely a system for every state out there -- amazing pic once again

Space definitely has it’s beauty. Thank you for sharing this with us.