This image shows a molecular cloud in the constellation of Corona Australis, or the Southern Crown, based on a combination of data from ESA’s Herschel and Planck space telescopes. The bright areas in the picture shows the emission by interstellar dust grains in three different wavelengths observed by Herschel (250, 350, and 500 microns) and the lines crossing the image in a ‘drapery pattern’ represent the magnetic field orientation (based on the Planck data.)
This molecular cloud appears as a cascading waterfall, spanning around five degrees along the horizontal side of the image. It contains a small open cluster called the Coronet, which is located at the brightest region of the image towards the left and is home to several variable stars, along with the nebula NGC 6729.
The image shows Corona Australis North on the left and Corona Australis South at the right. Corona Australis North has the densest star-forming regions of the complex, whereas Corona Australis South displays structures that are comet-like in appearance and has less star formation. In this image, the well-defined filament flows from the bright area on the top left towards the lower right, and a broader and fainter streamer flows to the upper right.