Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning new image of the nebula NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula.
This image shows part of NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA.
NGC 2174 is located about 6400 light-years away in the constellation of Orion, about 6,400 light-years away.
The nebula is a violent stellar nursery. It is filled with young stars embedded within bright wisps of cosmic gas and dust.
A vibrant palette of colors can be seen in the new image of the nebula.
Dark brown and rust-colored dust clouds billow outwards, framed against a background of bright blue gas.
These striking hues are formed by combining several Hubble images taken with different colored filters, to reveal a broad range of colors not normally visible to the human eye.
The icing on this cosmic birthday cake takes the form of young white and pink stars sprinkled amongst the glowing clouds, pushing away the dark stellar nurseries in which they formed.
The key ingredient in the nebula is hydrogen gas, which is ionized by the ultraviolet radiation emitted by the young stars.
As a result, this region is also known as an HII region – a large cloud of ionized gas.
