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Hubble Spots Cosmic Star Nursery
1 Jan
Summary
- Hubble captured a star-making factory 160,000 light years away.
- The 'star factory' spans 150 light years across.
- It showcases glowing red clouds of hydrogen where new stars form.
A breathtaking new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals a vibrant 'star factory' deep within the universe. This celestial nursery, situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an astonishing 160,000 light years from Earth. The light captured by Hubble began its journey when Neanderthals still roamed our planet, offering a glimpse into the ancient past.
The expansive star-forming region measures 150 light years across, filled with dense clouds of cold hydrogen gas. These clouds glow a deep red, indicating the intense birth of new stars. The image also shows the dramatic effects of stellar winds from energetic stars, which have sculpted immense bubbles within the gas.
The Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way, is visible in the southern hemisphere. For three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope, a joint NASA-ESA project, has been instrumental in providing humanity with these incredible views of distant cosmic phenomena.
