APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by APOD Robot » Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:16 am

Image The Cone Nebula from Hubble

Explanation: Stars are forming in the gigantic dust pillar called the Cone Nebula. Cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. The Cone Nebula, a well-known example, lies within the bright galactic star-forming region NGC 2264. The Cone was captured in unprecedented detail in this close-up composite of several observations from the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. While the Cone Nebula, about 2,500 light-years away in Monoceros, is around 7 light-years long, the region pictured here surrounding the cone's blunted head is a mere 2.5 light-years across. In our neck of the galaxy that distance is just over half way from our Sun to its nearest stellar neighbors in the Alpha Centauri star system. The massive star NGC 2264 IRS, seen by Hubble's infrared camera in 1997, is the likely source of the wind sculpting the Cone Nebula and lies off the top of the image. The Cone Nebula's reddish veil is produced by glowing hydrogen gas.

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MikeA

Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by MikeA » Wed Mar 15, 2017 6:03 am

Any ideas about the planet-looking orbs near the two stars center right?

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Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by Ann » Wed Mar 15, 2017 6:36 am

Good to see you back here with such an iconic image, Geck! :D

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Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by rstevenson » Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:55 pm

MikeA wrote:Any ideas about the planet-looking orbs near the two stars center right?
These? ...
blobs.jpg
They look to me like whisps of gas and/or dust being lit up by radiation from those two stars.

Rob

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Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by LirrelJohn » Wed Mar 15, 2017 2:04 pm

Cone? Not so much. Too lumpy, not pointy enough.
Last edited by LirrelJohn on Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Steve Dutch

Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by Steve Dutch » Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:21 pm

Proof of an afterlife! Cousin Itt died and was placed among the stars!

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Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by Fred the Cat » Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:41 pm

Very nice Geck but the nebula looks more like a lamprey than a cone. :ssmile:
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Mikea

Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by Mikea » Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:24 pm

Thanks, Rob.

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Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by ta152h0 » Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:48 pm

looks like a little Brother nebula lower right
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Re: APOD: The Cone Nebula from Hubble (2017 Mar 15)

Post by MarkBour » Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:51 pm

Fred the Cat wrote:Very nice Geck but the nebula looks more like a lamprey than a cone. :ssmile:
I like that, reminds me of a lamprey, too.
Of course a wider-angle view looks nicely like a cone, this is just the blunt tip of the pencil.
I find the image quite beautiful!
Mark Goldfain

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