Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) created this beautiful image of gas cloud Gum 46.
This VLT image shows Gam 46, a nebula located 5,500 light-years away in the constellation Craxas. Image credit: ESO.
gum 46 It is located in the constellation Craxas, about 5,500 light-years from Earth.
At the center of this nebula is a young, hot, blue star called HD 311999.
“HD 311999's powerful radiation excites atoms in the surrounding gas and re-emits this energy in very specific colors and wavelengths,” ESO astronomers said.
“The pink hue that dominates this image is due to hydrogen atoms, the most abundant element in this nebula and the entire universe.”
“The dark wispy clouds surrounding the nebula also create a spectacular sight.”
“These clouds are not inherently dark; they are very dense areas of dust that block the light passing through, covering the glowing core of Gam 46.”
The image of this gum 46 is FORS2 (FOcal Reducer and Low Dispersion Spectrograph 2) equipped with equipment ESO's super large telescope.
“This image was created as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems program, an educational and “This is a support activity aimed at disseminating information to the general public,” the astronomers said.
“This program takes advantage of telescope time that is otherwise unavailable for scientific observations.”
“All data collected may also be suitable for scientific purposes and will be made available to astronomers through ESO’s scientific archive.”
Source: www.sci.news
