B93: 黑暗的星际幽灵

2026年2月20日

B93: A Dark Interstellar Ghost
Image Credit & Copyright: Christian Bertincourt; Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: “A ghost in the Milky Way…” says Christian Bertincourt, the astrophotographer behind this striking image of Barnard 93 (B93). The 93rd entry in Barnard’s Catalogue of Dark Nebulae, B93 lies within the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (Messier 24), where its darkness stands in stark contrast to bright stars and gas in the background. In some ways, B93 is really like a ghost, because it contains gas and dust that was dispersed by the deaths of stars, like supernovas. B93 appears as a dark void not because it is empty, but because its dust blocks the light emitted by more distant stars and glowing gas. Like other dark nebulas, some gas from B93, if dense and massive enough, will eventually gravitationally condense to form new stars. If so, then once these stars ignite, B93 will transform from a dark ghost into a brilliant cradle of newborn stars.

Tomorrow’s picture: open space

B93: 黑暗的星际幽灵
影像提供与版权: Christian Bertincourt; 文稿: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

说明: 「银河系中的幽灵……」天文摄影师克里斯蒂安贝尔坦库尔如此形容，他是这幅震撼影像的巴纳德93号（B93）拍摄者。B93是巴纳德暗星云目录中的第93号星云，B93位于小人马座恒星云（梅西耶24）内，在这片区域中，B93的黝黑轮廓与背景中明亮的恒星与发光气体形成鲜明对比。在某种意义上，B93的确像个幽灵，因为其中的气体与尘埃来自于恒星死亡后被抛散的物质，例如超新星爆发。B93之所以显得如同黑暗空洞，并不是因为它是空无一物，而是因为其内部的尘埃遮蔽了光线，使得更遥远的恒星与发光气体所释放的光线难以穿透。和其他暗星云一样，B93中的部分气体若密度够大，且质量充足，便可能最终在重力作用下塌缩形成新恒星。若真如此，当这些恒星点燃时，B93将会从幽暗的影子化身为一座新生恒星的璀璨摇篮。

明日的图片: open space