The Hubble's Space Telescope captured a spectacular image of a Flame Nebula also known as NGC 2024. Located in the constellation Orion, NGC 2024 is a large star-forming region and is approximately 1,400 light-years away from Earth.
Flame Nebula
The Flame Nebula recently captured by the Hubble Space Telescope is particularly part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, or popularly known as Orion Complex.
The Orion complex is one of the most active of those visible in the night sky located in the Milky Way.
As reported by NASA, the Flame Nebula captured is in the area where nebulae such as the Horsehead Nebula and the Orion Nebula are also located.
This image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope focuses on the dark, dusty heart of the nebula, which contains a star cluster that is largely hidden from view by the surrounding dust.
The bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, is close by (but not visible in this image) and is the brightest star in the constellation. The hydrogen gas in the Flame Nebula is ionized as a result of the radiation from Alnitak.
In order for the gas to transition from a higher-energy state to a lower-energy state, it must first emit energy in the form of light. This causes the visible glow behind the swirling wisps of dust to appear.
What Is a Nebula and How Does It Form?
Nebulas are large clouds of dust and gas that form in space. Several nebulae are formed by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova, which releases gas and dust into space. Other nebulae are regions where new stars are beginning to form, as opposed to the central nebula. Some nebulae are also referred to as "star nurseries" as a result of this phenomenon.
Nebulae are composed of dust and gasses, the majority of which are hydrogen and helium. Although the dust and gasses in a nebula are widely dispersed, gravity has the ability to gradually pull clumps of dust and gas together over time. Since these clumps grow in size, the gravitational pull of the clumps becomes stronger and stronger.
According to NASA's Space Place: "The clump of dust and gas gets so big that it collapses from its own gravity. The collapse causes the material at the center of the cloud to heat up-and this hot core is the beginning of a star."
NASA Hubble Space Telescope
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken numerous images of faraway nebulae. This extremely powerful microscope has been used by astronomers "to measure the mass of stars in the cluster as they search for brown dwarfs, a type of dim object that's too hot and massive to be classified as a planet but also too small and cool to shine like a star."
The Hubble Space Telescope is a large, space-based observatory named in honor of the trailblazing astronomer Edwin Hubble.
The Hubble Telescope has the scientific ability to have a crystal-clear view of the universe. It is located far above rain clouds, light pollution, and atmospheric distortions. Researchers have made use of the Hubble Space Telescope to observe some of the most distant stars and galaxies that have ever been observed, as well as the planets of our solar system.
When the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit around the Earth, it became the world's first astronomical observatory to be equipped with the capability of recording images in wavelengths of light ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared.
