North American Nebula continent NASA Plaque

The North American nebula combines both visible and infrared light observations, taken by the Digitised Sky Survey and NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. The nebula is named after its resemblance to North America in blue hues. Infrared light, displayed here in red and green, can penetrate deep into the dust, revealing multitudes of hidden stars and dusty clouds. Clusters of young stars about one million years old can be found throughout the image near the head region of the Pelican nebula located to the right of the North American nebula.