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Coalsack

 
Dictionary: Coal·sack   (kōl'săk') pronunciation
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n.
  1. A dark nebula, one of the nearest to Earth, that appears in the southern Milky Way.
  2. A similar dark nebula in the Northern Hemisphere near the constellation Cygnus.

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Coalsack
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Dark nebula in the Crux constellation (Southern Cross). It reduces the brightness of stars beyond it by 1 – 1.5 magnitudes. Easily visible against a starry background, it is probably about 550 – 600 light-years from Earth and 20 – 30 light-years in diameter. It figures in legends of peoples of the Southern Hemisphere and has been known to Europeans since c. 1500. The Northern Coalsack, in the constellation Cygnus, is similar in nature and appearance but somewhat less obvious.

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Crux (constellation)
Milky Way (in astronomy)
Coalsack Nebula

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more