The European Space Agency released this image of a nebula captured by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Munich, Germany. The image shows a dark nebula in the star-forming region known as NGC 2264, about 2,500 light-years from Earth. Photo courtesy of the European Southern Observatory
Dec. 27 (UPI) — The European Space Agency released a detailed photo of a cone nebula that is part of a star-forming region known as NGC 2264, about 2,500 light-years from Earth.
The image was captured by the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Munich, Germany, and was released to mark the telescope’s 60th anniversary.
Unlike many nebulae that are observed to emit light by ionization or reflect light from nearby stars, the Cone Nebula in the photo is made up of dark dust that absorbs visible light.
Dense nebulae, like the one pictured, give birth to new stars, which form when gravity pulls gas and dust together. The fact that most wavelengths do not penetrate the nebula means that star formation is not compromised by the heat and energy that would normally scatter matter.
Although the Cone Nebula gives birth to stars, it also has its shape. Young stars reach a point in their life cycle that astronomers call “feedback,” where jets of plasma exit the star aided by its magnetic fields. The feedback causes a stellar wind that pulls matter away from the stars, compressing and shaping the nebulae.
The density and cold temperature of the nebula means that infrared telescopes, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, could prove invaluable for studying star formation.