A spectacular image of a nebula about 5,200 light-years from Earth has been featured as NASA’s Astronomical Picture of the Day. While interpreting the image, NASA said that at the center of the Rosette Nebula, there is a bright star cluster illuminating the nebula. The stars of NGC 2244 formed only a few million years ago from the surrounding gas. The center of the Rosette Nebula, visible through binoculars in the constellation Monoceros, is about 50 light-years across.
NASA further mentioned that the featured image was taken in mid-January using a variety of exposures and specific colors. Sulfur is red, Hydrogen is green and Oxygen is blue, providing a very detailed view of the central region. A hot wind of particles from the cluster’s stars contributes to a complex mix of gas and dust filaments, and also gradually cleans the center of the cluster.
How do scientists name the Nebula?
Scientists have discovered amazing information about the Rosette Nebula since the 1880s. Currently, they classify different parts of the Rosette Nebula. cloud gas and dust such as NGC 2237, NGC 2238, NGC 2239, NGC 2244 and NGC 2246, and have begun to map the nebula. The term “NGC” stands for “New General Catalog,” an updated version of the nebula catalog created by Danish astronomer Johan Ludvig Emil Dreyer, theplanets.org reports.
How do nebulae form?
According to report, scientists now think that nebulae form due to a star’s death or the birth of stars. The gas and dust in the nebula usually contain Hydrogen and Helium. Sometimes, this matter spreads across space due to a supernova, which is the explosive death of an old star.
While in some other situations, NASA suggests that space dust accumulates in the “star nursery”. As dense clumps of gas and dust collapse, they heat up and can create new stars. Many scientists believe that the clear central region of the Rosette Nebula contains newly formed stars, while the red regions of the nebula are likely sites of star formation.
