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A new rendering shows star-forming regions and more details in the galaxy core. Based on public data from the HLA archive.
NGC 1300 is an example of a barred spiral galaxy. Unlike in other spiral galaxies where the starry arms curl outward from the center of the galaxy, NGC 1300's arms twist away from the ends of a straight bar of stars that stretches across the galaxy's core. Observational evidence suggests that our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is a barred spiral as well.
NGC 1300's spiral arms include blue clusters of young stars, pink clouds that are forming new stars, and dark lanes of dust. Two prominent dust lanes also cut through the galaxy's bar, which contains mostly older, orangish stars. These dust lanes disappear into a tight spiral feature at the center of the bar. Interestingly, only galaxies with large bars appear to have such a "spiral within a spiral." Hubble's image of NGC 1300, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys, reveals finer details in these features than ever seen before.
Using Hubble to study more than 2,000 spiral galaxies both near and far, astronomers have learned that barred spiral galaxies are more common today than they were in the past. Led by Kartik Sheth of the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, the team found that 65 percent of present-day spiral galaxies have bars, but 7 billion years ago, only 20 percent of spirals had them. The researchers also noticed that the percentage of massive spiral galaxies that have bars was about the same in the past as it is today, but for low-mass spirals, more present-day galaxies have bars than the earlier ones do.
Galaxies take time to mature, so today's galaxies are typically more developed than those from billions of years ago. Astronomers also know that larger, more massive galaxies tend to develop faster — and thus earlier — than smaller, less massive galaxies do. The findings, therefore, imply that bars are a sign of maturity among spiral galaxies.
Constellation: Eridanus
Distance: 69 million light-years
Image credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Keith Noll
Processing & copyright: Leo Shatz
Text source: hubblesite.org/image/3880/category/37-spiral-galaxies
Previous artwork on ESA Hubble website - "A poster-size image of the beautiful barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300"
This Chandra image shows the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region in the Sagittarius-Carina arm of the Milky Way a mere 7,500 light years from Earth. Chandra's sharp X-ray vision has detected over 14,000 stars in this region, revealed a diffuse X-ray glow, and provided strong evidence that massive stars have already self-destructed in this nearby supernova factory.
The lower energy X-rays in this image are red, the medium energy X-rays are green, and the highest energy X-rays are blue. The Chandra survey has a large field of 1.4 square degrees, made of a mosaic of 22 individual Chandra pointings. In total, this image represents 1.2 million seconds -- or nearly two weeks -- of Chandra observing time. A great deal of multi-wavelength data has been used in combination with this new Chandra campaign, including infrared observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope (VLT).
Several pieces of evidence support the idea that supernova production has already begun in this star-forming region. Firstly, there is an observed deficit of bright X-ray sources in Trumpler 15, suggesting that some of the massive stars in this cluster were already destroyed in supernova explosions. Trumpler 15 is located in the northern part of the image, as shown in a labeled version, and is one of ten star clusters in the Carina complex. Several other well known clusters are shown in the labeled image.
The detection of six possible neutron stars, the dense cores often left behind after stars explode in supernovas, provides additional evidence that supernova activity is ramping up in Carina. Previous observations had only detected one neutron star in Carina. These six neutron star candidates are too faint to be easily picked out in this large-scale image of Carina.
Credit: NASA/CXC/Penn State/L. Townsley et al.
Read entire caption/view more images: chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2011/carina/
Caption credit: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Read more about Chandra:
p.s. You can see all of our Chandra photos in the Chandra Group in Flickr at: www.flickr.com/groups/chandranasa/ We'd love to have you as a member!
Hiroshi Yoshimura (吉村弘) - Wet Land (1993)
For almost everyone, Spring is associated with an abundance of nascent forms and a variety of vibrant colors...
I suggest we look at this magical time without "superfluous" colors. After all, colors usually adhere to existing forms. This means that form and content are the foundation upon which we can apply as many layers of the most vibrant and impressive colors as we like... But if form and content are absent... then color becomes superfluous...
Nature gives us a great variety of forms, imbuing them with a wide variety of meanings and purposes. After all, if you look closely, everything around us carries something special; something that can serve us in a variety of ways – inspire, help us heal, impart valuable lessons, nourish us, and even... send us to other dimensions...
Previously, I wrote that everything around us is connected. And we are connected to everything. Moreover, there is a feeling that everything around us is different forms of the same thing. Different forms of ...Ourselves ...Source ...Nature ...God ...Universe...
What forms fill your life?
What do you feel when the form becomes more tangible?
Carlisle, Northern England
Picture No: 2019-12-21-7109_P5_FRAMED_S
Edited in Canon DPP, framed in Photoshop 6
Cropped. No photomontage. No Photoshop.
Trees reflected in a wetland on Lummi Island during a lovely sunset.
All my photographs are © Copyrighted and All Rights Reserved. None of these photos may be reproduced and/or used in any form of publication, print or the Internet without my written permission.
Fotosöndag: tema Form
Dekoration
Filter pålagt efteråt för bättre effekt
Theme: shape
Decoration
Filter applied afterwards for better effect
''Americanism in all its forms seemed to be trashy and wasteful and crude, even brutal. There was a metaphor ready to hand in my native Hampshire. Until some time after the war, the squirrels of England had been red. I can still vaguely remember these sweet Beatrix Potter–type creatures, smaller and prettier and more agile and lacking the rat-like features that disclose themselves when you get close to a gray squirrel. These latter riffraff, once imported from America by some kind of regrettable accident, had escaped from captivity and gradually massacred and driven out the more demure and refined English breed. It was said that the gray squirrels didn't fight fair and would with a raking motion of their back paws castrate the luckless red ones. Whatever the truth of that, the sighting of a native English squirrel was soon to be a rarity, confined to the north of Scotland and the Isle of Wight, and this seemed to be emblematic, for the anxious lower middle class, of a more general massification and de-gentrification and, well, Americanization of everything.”Christopher Hitchens
A Irmandade da Santa Cruz dos Militares (ISCM) foi fundada em 1623, no Rio de Janeiro. É uma associação civil e religiosa católica, formada por Oficiais da ativa, reserva da 1ª Classe e reformados, pertencentes ao Exército Brasileiro. A ISCM realiza atividades religiosas, beneficentes e filantrópicas.
Os objetivos da Irmandade consistem em prestar culto religioso à Cruz, símbolo da associação; estimular o aprofundamento da fé cristã; dar sepultura aos corpos dos seus irmãos e apoio as suas viúvas, aos seus viúvos e aos seus órfãos; oferecer serviços na área da assistência social.
A atual Igreja da Santa Cruz dos Militares começou a ser erguida por volta de 1770, no lugar da antiga capela que se tornou pequena para abrigar os seus Irmãos . Os templos religiosos, entre os séculos XVII e XIX, além de serem espaços destinados à realização de cerimônias para celebração de Sacramentos, de solenidades e datas comemorativas da Igreja Católica, também eram locais privilegiados de sociabilidade, em que as pessoas se reuniam, difundiam notícias, manifestavam a sua fé e realizavam variados rituais sagrados. A vida social das vilas e das cidades estava ligada à vida religiosa, desde o nascimento do fiel até a sua morte.
As obras de construção da nova Igreja levaram mais de trinta anos para serem concluídas. Em 28 de setembro de 1811, o novo templo foi sagrado, ocasião em que se realizou uma missa solene, na qual compareceu o Príncipe Regente D. João. Em 03 de dezembro de 1828, o Imperador Dom Pedro I concede o título de Imperial à Irmandade da Santa Cruz dos Militares, graça que também foi declarada pelo Imperador Dom Pedro II, no ano de 1840. Momento muito importante para a Igreja da Santa Cruz dos Militares diz respeito a sua agregação à Sacrossanta Basílica do Vaticano, em 1923, ano em que a Irmandade comemorava o seu tricentenário de fundação.
Copyright © Marcia Rosa – All Rights Reserved.
Reprodução proibida – Todos os direitos reservados.
Contato: marcia_rosa@hotmail.com
The Thai spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature house or temple, and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais.
The Thai spirit house is intended to provide a shelter for spirits that could cause problems for the people if not appeased. The shrines often include images of people and animals. Votive offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits. More elaborate installations include an altar for this purpose.
Seen at Sacred Wood in Fort Hood.
Likely subject: a bromeliad-type rosette, possibly an air plant in the genus Tillandsia, or a related cultivated bromeliad such as Vriesea, Neoregelia, or Guzmania.
Confidence: moderate for “bromeliad/air plant type”; low for exact genus or species.
This appears to be a focus-stacked botanical macro of a rosette-form plant with long, narrow, recurving leaves. The stack gives unusually extended sharpness across leaves that bend through different depth planes.
Description
The image shows a dark, high-contrast botanical subject emerging from a nearly black background. Long straplike leaves rise from a central rosette, then arc outward and downward, especially on the right side. The leaves are mostly hidden in shadow, but their edges catch intense rim light.
The visible color is concentrated along the illuminated leaf margins: copper, amber, bronze, orange, yellow-green, violet, and electric blue-white highlights. The central growth remains greener, while the outer leaves read as darker bronze and maroon.
The plant is not presented as a conventional botanical specimen. It reads as an abstract structure of curved blades, ribbons, or calligraphic strokes traced by light.
Focus-stacking discussion
This image clearly benefits from stacking. A single macro exposure would probably leave only a narrow slice of the plant sharp. Here, multiple parts of the rosette remain defined even though they sit at different distances from the lens:
* the central upright green leaves
* the vertical bronze leaves on the left
* the long recurving arcs on the right
* the repeated rim-lit edges and ridges
* overlapping leaf tips at different depths
The stack allows the form to hold together as a sculptural object instead of dissolving into shallow-focus blur.
There are also visible stack/process traits:
* bright halos along some leaf edges
* abrupt dark transitions where leaves overlap
* local contrast buildup along ridges and margins
* compressed shadow areas that hide detail
* a slightly metallic or enamel-like edge quality
Those effects do not read as accidental here. They support the image’s darkfield, high-contrast abstraction.
Botanical discussion
The rosette structure and straplike recurving leaves strongly suggest a bromeliad. Many bromeliads grow from a central cup or crown, with overlapping leaves arranged in a radial pattern. Some Tillandsia species have narrow, arching leaves, while larger potted bromeliads such as Vriesea, Neoregelia, and Guzmania can also show similar rosette architecture.
Exact identification is limited because the lighting hides key traits:
* leaf surface texture
* scale or trichome pattern
* margin teeth or spines
* whole plant size
* flower spike or bracts
* pot/epiphytic growth habit
So the safest ID is: bromeliad-type rosette, possibly Tillandsia / air plant.
Artistic reading
The strongest visual passage is the right side, where several curved leaves repeat in parallel arcs. That repetition gives the image rhythm and depth. The left side is denser and more vertical, acting as a structural counterweight.
The stack reinforces the graphic quality: instead of one sharp plane, the image offers a constructed depth field where many illuminated edges remain legible. The black background and heavy shadows suppress ordinary plant context, leaving form, light, and color as the main subject.
This Mountain Hare is resting in its form on a heather covered hillside at Glenshee in the Scottish Highlands.
In the UK, Mountain Hares live in the Scottish Highlands and England's Peak District, grazing on vegetation and nibbling bark from young trees and bushes. They shelter in a ‘form’, which is simply a shallow depression in the ground or heather.
They are at their most visible in spring, when the snow has melted but the hares are still white, like this one.
Mountain Hares can reach 65cm in length and can weigh up to 5.3kg.
Tortoise
CD :
Tortoise
Touch
International Anthem
IARC 0099
Sounds . Dan Bitney . John Herndon . Douglas McCombs .
John McEntire . Jeff Parker
Layout & Design . Jeremiah Chiu
Use Hearing Protection
Merci japanese forms
GMA
3/4 - The cycle of the redwood forest. Trees falling, forming geometry.
My newest video is out now! A simple trip into a close-by park in my new home, the bay area of California. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did getting out there.
Link is in my bio.
On our planet, water is life. But how did it get here? Are there similar environments around other stars?
Webb has us one step closer to the answers. In a still-developing “solar system,” Webb detected water in the zone where rocky planets like Earth may form.
PDS 70 is a K-type star cooler than our Sun. Around it is a huge disk made up of planet-forming materials, including 2 known gas giant planets in the making. Webb found water vapor in the inner disk of PDS 70, within 100 million miles of the star.
Though we’ve seen water in similar disks, Webb’s discovery is the first detection of water in the “rocky planet zone” of a system known to have 2 or more developing planets. That means if rocky planets someday form around PDS 70, they’ll have water ready and waiting.
Follow-up observations will dive deeper into new mysteries, such as the origins of the water around PDS 70. In turn, studying other worlds will help us gain insight into our own. More: go.nasa.gov/3O8NL2j
This image: ARTIST ILLUSTRATION
This artist concept portrays the star PDS 70 and its inner protoplanetary disk. New measurements by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected water vapor at distances of less than 100 million miles from the star – the region where rocky, terrestrial planets may be forming. This is the first detection of water in the terrestrial region of a disk already known to host two or more protoplanets, one of which is shown at upper right.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
Image description: Left of center, a bright light source illuminates a surrounding disk colored dusky red. The disk has spiral features and a scattering of small, rocky objects. At upper right, there is a gap through which background stars can be seen. At the outer edge of the gap is a dusky globe representing a gas giant planet. Beyond it is additional disk material, some of which is falling onto the planet.
Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station, of the hamlet within the location, and of an important ecological site at the same location.
The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".
Ecology
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in Europe and is classified as Britain's only desert by the Met Office. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a national nature reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
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Acontias lineatus Striped Dwarf Legless Skink melanistic form. From Cederberg, Western Cape. www.tyroneping.co.za/lizards/acontias-lineatus-striped-dw...
Brauweiler Abbey (German: Abtei Brauweiler) is a former Benedictine monastery located at Brauweiler, now in Pulheim near Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany.
It was founded and endowed in 1024 by Pfalzgraf Ezzo, count palatine of Lotharingia of the Ezzonian dynasty and his wife Matilda of Saxony, a daughter of Emperor Otto II and Theophano. Ezzo and Matilda were buried here, as were their two eldest sons Liudolf, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (d. 1031) and Otto II, Duke of Swabia (d. 1047).
From 1065 until his death in 1091, Wolfhelm of Brauweiler, later Saint Wolfhelm, was abbot here. His relics were enshrined in the abbey church, and miracles were reported at his tomb,[1] but all traces of them were lost centuries ago.
The present abbey church, now the parish church of Saint Nicholas and Saint Medardus, is the third building on the site, built between 1136 and 1220 or later. The abbey was dissolved in the secularisation of 1803. The premises were subsequently used, under a Napoleonic law, as a hostel for beggars, and from 1815 under the Prussian regime as a workhouse.
From 1933 to 1945 the buildings were used for the internment, torture, and murder of political and social "undesirables" by the Gestapo and the civil authorities of the Nazi government. Prisoners included Konrad Adenauer, the former mayor of Cologne and first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. From 1945 to 1949, it was an open camp for displaced persons administered first by the British Army and then by UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration).
The abbey buildings are now used by the Rheinisches Amt für Denkmalpflege ("Rhenish Department for the Care of Historic Monuments").
Die Abtei Brauweiler liegt im Stadtteil Brauweiler der Stadt Pulheim in Nordrhein-Westfalen, nordwestlich von Köln.
Eine Besiedlung im heutigen Ortsgebiet Brauweiler lässt sich durch Funde von Keramikscherben, behauenem Flint und einem Hallstattbrandgrab seit der älteren Eisenzeit nachweisen. Aus der Römerzeit stammt eine befestigte Anlage. Bei Grabungen 1983/1984 wurden auf dem Gelände der Abtei Reste eines römischen Herrenhauses (villa rustica) mit zwei Gebäudeflügeln gefunden, die zu einem Gutshof gehörten. Brandschichten deuten darauf hin, dass dieser Gutshof im 4. Jahrhundert abbrannte und nicht wieder aufgebaut worden ist.
In der Fundatio monasterii Brunwilarensis (erzählende Quelle eines Brauweiler Mönches gegen Ende des 11. Jahrhunderts) wird auf dem Platz der Bau einer hölzernen Kapelle beschrieben, für deren Altar ein gewisser Brun Reliquien des hl. Medardus aus Soissons mitbrachte. Zeitlich eingeordnet werden könnte der Bau in die Mitte des 8. Jahrhunderts, urkundliche Beweise fehlen jedoch. Der Erzählung nach wurden die verfallenen Überreste der Kapelle um 985 wieder aufgefunden. Pfalzgraf Hermann I. ließ eine neue Kapelle aus Stein erbauen und durch den Erzbischof Warin von Köln weihen. Neben der Kapelle wurde ein ebenfalls zerstörtes Hofgut neu aufgebaut. Dieses Anwesen entwickelte sich zum Mittelpunkt einer Besiedlung, die bis heute nicht mehr aufgegeben wurde.
Um 991 bis 993 fand auf dem Hofgut die Hochzeit zwischen dem Pfalzgrafen Ezzo-Ehrenfried, einem Sohn Hermanns I., und Mathilde, einer Tochter von Kaiser Otto II. und Theophanu, statt. Dabei übertrug Ezzo seiner Frau das Gut, diese widmete es in der Medarduskapelle Christus und den Heiligen.
St. Nikolaus, frühere Abteikirche der Abtei Brauweiler
In dieser Zeit war es für den reichen Adel üblich, Klöster und Kirchen bauen zu lassen, um zwischen der Kirche und den Angehörigen des Geschlechts einen lebendigen Zusammenhang herzustellen. Bei einer Wallfahrt nach Rom vor 1024 erhielten Ezzo und Mathilde von Papst Benedikt VIII. Reliquien und ein Kreuz zur Gründung eines Klosters. Als Gründungsort wurde wohl deshalb Brauweiler ausgewählt, weil sich hier Eigenbesitz der pfalzgräflichen Familie konzentrierte und der Platz strategisch günstig an zwei Straßenverbindungen von Köln nach Aachen und Roermond lag.
Der damals bedeutende Reformabt Poppo von Stablo wurde nach Vermittlung durch Erzbischof Pilgrim von Köln mit der Klostergründung beauftragt. Poppo stand dabei für eine Klosterreform, die eine strenge Befolgung der klösterlichen Regeln verlangte und damit im Einklang mit Reichskirche und den Adligen stand. Am 14. April 1024 erreichten sieben von Poppo entsandte Mönche Brauweiler und begannen mit dem Bau des Klosters auf dem höchsten Punkt des Geländes, die Kapelle wurde in den Bau mit einbezogen. Die Kirche selbst wurde etwa 26 Meter nördlich dieser Kapelle errichtet. Noch während der Bauarbeiten starb Pfalzgräfin Mathilde am 20. November 1025 in Aeccheze (vermutlich Echtz bei Düren) und wurde in der Mitte des Kreuzganges vor einem Altar begraben. Kirche und Kloster konnten am 8. November 1028 durch Erzbischof Pilgrim geweiht werden.
En el recinto del Castillo, con forma de polígono irregular, se distinguen dos partes diferenciadas: la parte norte, del siglo XII, y el resto, construido a lo largo del siglo XV, con algunas obras realizadas en los siglos XIX y XX. En tiempos pretéritos el castillo estuvo rodeado por un foso, excepto en el lienzo noroccidental, donde el río cumplía esa misma función.
En el interior existe un grupo de fortificaciones del siglo XII de origen templario: los restos de una barbacana en el acceso a un patio, al que abren la torre elíptica, parte del paseo de ronda, una torre que tuvo tres pisos, la torre del Malvecino y otra torre en la que destaca una puerta de arco apuntado, de gran valor artístico.
La fachada noroeste constituye un parapeto corrido que termina en la torre del Moclín, de planta hexagonal irregular. Bajo él se abría una nueva ronda que defendía el subterráneo que unía el castillo con un aljibe, situado en una torre albarrana.
La portada principal, de mampostería, está compuesta por dos torreones que flanquean un amplio arco de medio punto. Tras este arco se alzaban las puertas de acceso al patio en el que, a la izquierda, se sitúa la torre del homenaje, desde la que se accede a la patio de armas, hoy cubierto de escombros.
Antes de entrar en el patio hay un recinto defensivo que conduce a la torre Cabrera, situada al sur y comunicada con la primera línea defensiva del lado este, en cuyo punto medio se alza una torre semicircular, destinada a calabozos y a la comunicación con la segunda línea de defensa. El paramento continúa hacia el norte, encontrándose otra torre cuadrada, antes de acceder a la torre de Malvecino, del siglo XV.
En el patio de armas, adosadas a otra línea defensiva, se encuentran varias dependencias, como la Galería de los Azulejos, derruidas y cubiertas de escombros debido a que 1811 una orden de la Regencia del Reino manda que vuelen las dependencias interiores (el daño no debió ser muy grande porque en 1815 se ofreció en sus salones un baile de sociedad) y a que desde que en 1848 el Ayuntamiento de Ponferrada, con la oposición frontal de la Comisión de Monumentos de Ponferrada, la empezase a utilizar como cantera local y mil otras felonías que culminaron en 1923 cuando se volaron sus muros para la construcción de un campo deportivo.
I recently acquired a +3 magnifying filter that threads onto my Nikkor 18-200mm lens and allows me to truly "fill the frame" when I use both of these tools together.
It is a bit tricky to work with since the combo produces a very shallow depth of field, but I'm pleased that a $25.00 filter can be so helpful for those of us who enjoy seeing the nature world up close......
This free form embroidery is stitched on raw cotton canvas and framed with a 12x12 inch frame. I used satin, chain, running stitch and French knots.
The beautiful forms of the handicraft of the brazilian indigenous people.
Press “L” for a better view. Enjoy …
Copyright © Clywton Oliveira 2011 - All rights reserved.
Please don’t use this photo without my permission.
Morganella pyriformis (piriformis) (pyriforme) (Schaeffer) Kreisel & D. Krüger, 2003 = Lycoperdon oviforme Patouillard, 1898 = Lycoperdon proteus var. ovoideum Bulliard, 1791 = Lycoperdon pyriforme Schaeffer, 1774 = Lycoperdon pyriforme ß tessellatum Persoon, 1801 = Utraria pyriformis (Schaeffer) Quélet, 1873, la vesse-de-loup en forme de poire ou lycoperdon en poire, vesse-de-loup en poire.
© Chris Elliott. All Rights Reserved - No Usage Allowed in Any Form Without My Written Consent.
"No more plagiarism, we want more security on Flickr!"
Baby Blessings... for a Girl on her Birth Day.
Born this morning (29 March 2011) at 03.33am, baby #3 - a daughter - for my beautiful daughter and her wonderful hubby, a baby sister for my wee grand-daughter and grandson, a new niece for 2 proud uncles, and for me...
I guess you can guess :))
Flowering currant in this morning's pre-dawn twilight.
Ribes sanguineum.
___________ ☀___________
Canon EOS 500D. Lens: Canon EF-S60mm f/2.8 MACRO USM.
Editing: photoshop.
___________ ☀___________
My inspiration: Words of Peace.
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PGB Photographer & Creative - © Philip Romeyn - Phillostar Gone Ballistic 2021 - Photo may not be edited from its original form. Commercial use is prohibited without contacting me.
Formed of the usual two Meridian units, the 06.00 Melton Mowbray to London St Pancras accelerates away from the 40mph restriction over Seaton viaduct
An artistic canvas of mauve and blue taken by NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope helps celebrate the telescope's upcoming 24th anniversary. Hubble used infrared filters on its main imaging workhorse, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 3, to capture this breathtaking view.
The subject is a collection of carved knots of gas and dust in the Monkey Head Nebula, also known as NGC 2174 and Sharpless Sh2-252. The nebula is a star-forming region that hosts dusky dust clouds silhouetted against glowing gas.
Massive newly-formed stars near the center of the nebula (and toward the right in this image) are blasting away at dust within the nebula. Ultraviolet light from these bright stars helps carve the dust into giant pillars. The nebula is mostly composed of hydrogen gas, which becomes ionized by the ultraviolet radiation and gives the nebulosity credence for its title as an HII region.
Officially in Orion, NGC 2174 is not too far from the Orion-Gemini constellation border. NGC 2174 is similar in size and shape to the Great Orion Nebula. At 6,400 light-years distant, however, it resides nearly 6 times farther away than the Orion Nebula.
The composite image is a collection of individual infrared filters that each let in a slightly different wavelength of light from the electromagnetic spectrum. As the interstellar dust particles are warmed from the radiation from the stars in the center of the nebula, they heat up and begin to glow at infrared wavelengths. Observations of NGC 2174 were taken in Feburary, 2014.
The image demonstrates the power of the infrared capability of Hubble and offers a tantalizing hint of what scientists can expect from the upcoming NASA/ESA collaboration to build and launch the James Webb Space Telescope.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)