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The bright reds and yellows of this nebula represent gasses that have been heated by nearby stars to the point where they give off light. The dark clouds in especially the upper foreground consist of cold gas molecules and dust. There are two interesting sharp-edged clouds that contrast with the wispy, diffuse clouds of the rest of the image: one is an elongate blob in the upper left while the other is in the lower center. Both of these clouds may be undergoing gravitational collapse to form small clusters of stars. The upper left blob shows a big pillar and several knobs pointing toward the upper left. There is a huge luminous star off the field of view that is stripping away the loose gasses in a manner analogous to what we saw in the Eagle Nebula. Will real stars form or will their 'food' be blasted away before they grow large enough to ignite? Did our own Solar System form in a cloud as large and spectacular as this one? Next Image!Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope; The main source for HST images and explanations is HubbleSite.org. |
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