This cosmic dust cloud blocks our view of the galaxy

The Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, but that doesn't mean we're necessarily able to see everything our galaxy has to offer. The trouble comes from this thick nearby dust cloud, which blocks the stars behind it.

This particular dust cloud is located near the constellation Corona Australis, also known as the Southern Crown. It's located only 500 light-years away, and the thickest part of the cloud - which is about eight light-years across - blocks out the light from the stars located behind it relative to us. That's the trouble with trying to understand what our galaxy looks like. Although we obviously gain from being close to all the stars in the Milky Way, we're still forever stuck inside it, which skews our view.

But as obstructed views go, I'll admit this is one of the more beautiful ones. A NASA astronomer explains a little more of what's on display in this image:



Via NASA. Image by Leonardo Julio.