4wyvern: “ In this new Hubble Space Telescope view, the nebula appears in a new light, as seen in infrared wavelengths. The nebula, shadowy in optical light, appears transparent and ethereal when seen in the infrared, represented here with visible...
Pop-up View Separately

4wyvern:

In this new Hubble Space Telescope view, the nebula appears in a new light, as seen in infrared wavelengths. The nebula, shadowy in optical light, appears transparent and ethereal when seen in the infrared, represented here with visible shades. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out against the backdrop of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies that are easily seen in infrared light.

The Horsehead was photographed in celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the launch of Hubble aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

The backlit wisps along the Horsehead’s upper ridge are being illuminated by Sigma Orionis, a young five-star system just off the top of the Hubble image. A harsh ultraviolet glare from one of these bright stars is slowly evaporating the nebula. Along the nebula’s top ridge, two fledgling stars peek out from their now-exposed nurseries.

Gas clouds surrounding the Horsehead have already dissipated, but the tip of the jutting pillar contains a slightly higher density of hydrogen and helium, laced with dust. This casts a shadow that protects material behind it from being photo-evaporated, and a pillar structure forms. Astronomers estimate that the Horsehead formation has about five million years left before it too disintegrates.

(via thegreenwolf)

Source: spacetelescope.org

496 Notes/ Hide

  1. thesass-queen reblogged this from flamingh0e
  2. spirograaph reblogged this from flamingh0e
  3. flamingh0e reblogged this from rowdydoughtie-blog
  4. dreamterra reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  5. medmedmedmedmed reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  6. klamond reblogged this from flamingh0e
  7. curiousreflecti0ns reblogged this from flamingh0e
  8. sharingan-is-caringan reblogged this from theforde
  9. theforde reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  10. thesmallgatsby reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  11. sarafnseca reblogged this from blizzzard
  12. thesebluedreams reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  13. conceptually-beautiful reblogged this from blizzzard
  14. kkeeccgg reblogged this from blizzzard
  15. f-i-r-e-and-gold reblogged this from blizzzard
  16. andishouldhavekissedyou reblogged this from sketchberries
  17. mediiitate reblogged this from shelby-silvernell-observations
  18. shelby-silvernell-observations reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  19. coounting-stars reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  20. amyallen73 reblogged this from usatoday
  21. my-ordinary-madness reblogged this from infinity-imagined
  22. 4wyvern posted this