Cosmic clouds of gas and dust form the shape of North America (left) and a pelican (right). This vast image from the backyard observatory contains a mind-boggling number of stars and dust. Invisible to the unaided eye, the camera revels a dark vein of cosmic dust that runs down the middle and blocks the light from behind it.
From our vantage point, it resembles the North American continent and a giant pelican. Both lie about 1800 light-years away from us and are about as wide as five “super” moons in the nighttime sky.