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Nebulae and Gas Clouds
Light and Shadow in the Carina Nebula  Previously unseen details of a mysterious, complex structure within the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) are revealed by this image of the 'Keyhole Nebula. Looking Down a Barrel of Gas at a Doomed Star  The most famous of all planetary nebulae: the Ring Nebula (M57). This photo reveals elongated dark clumps of material embedded in the gas at the edge of the nebula; the dying central star floating in a blue haze of hot gas. The nebula is about a light-year in diameter and is located some 2,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Lyra. A perfect storm of turbulent gases  Like the fury of a raging sea, this anniversary image shows a bubbly ocean of glowing hydrogen, oxygen, and sulphur gas in the extremely massive and luminous molecular nebula Messier 17. This Hubble photograph captures a small region within Messier 17 (M17), a hotbed of star formation. M17, also known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, is located about 5500 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation.
The Boomerang Nebula   The Boomerang Nebula is one of the Universe's peculiar places. In 1995, using the 15-metre Swedish ESO Submillimetre Telescope in Chile, astronomers revealed that it is the coldest place in the Universe found so far. With a temperature of -272C, it is only 1 degree warmer than absolute zero (the lowest limit for all temperatures). Even the -270C background glow from the Big Bang is warmer than this nebula. It is the only object found so far that has a temperature lower than the background radiation. A Ghostly Star-forming Pillar of Gas and Dust  Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this celestial object is actually just a pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (in NGC 2264) - this monstrous pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. This picture, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the Cone. The entire pillar is seven light-years long. Thackeray's Globules in IC 2944  Strangely glowing dark clouds float serenely in this remarkable and beautiful image. These dense, opaque dust clouds -- known as "globules" -- are silhouetted against nearby bright stars in the busy star-forming region, IC 2944.
Multiple Generations of Stars in the Tarantula Nebula  In the most active starburst region in the local universe lies a cluster of brilliant, massive stars, known to astronomers as Hodge 301. Ghost Head Nebula  The "Ghost Head Nebula" is one of a chain of star-forming regions lying south of the 30 Doradus nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Two bright regions (the "eyes of the ghost"), named A1 (left) and A2 (right), are very hot, glowing "blobs" of hydrogen and oxygen. The bubble in A1 is produced by the hot, intense radiation and powerful stellar wind from a single massive star. A2 has a more complex appearance due to the presence of more dust, and it contains several hidden, massive stars. The massive stars in A1 and A2 must have formed within the last 10,000 years since their natal gas shrouds are not yet disrupted by the powerful radiation of the newly born stars. The Red Spider Nebula  The Red Spider Nebula, NGC 6537, is a striking 'butterfly' or bipolar (two-lobed) planetary nebula. Planetary nebulae are the glowing embers of ordinary stars, such as our Sun. At the end of their lives these stars expel most of their material into space, often forming a two-lobed structure as in the case of the Red Spider.
The Cat's Eye Nebula  One of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen, NGC 6543, nicknamed the "Cat's Eye Nebula," reveals surprisingly intricate structures including concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. Estimated to be 1,000 years old, the nebula is a visual "fossil record" of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star. Horsehead Nebula  Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant seahorse, the Horsehead nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky. Also known as Barnard 33, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust, silhouetted against the bright nebula, IC 434. The bright area at the top left edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. But radiation from this hot star is eroding the stellar nursery. The top of the nebula also is being sculpted by radiation from a massive star. A Planetary Nebula in the Making  A proto-planetary nebula. A dying star (hidden behind dust and gas in the center of the nebula) has ejected massive amounts of gas. Parts of the gas have reached tremendous velocities of up to one-and-a-half million kilometers per hour. Shown in blue is light from hydrogen and ionised nitrogen arising from supersonic shocks where the gas stream rams into the surrounding material.
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