New image of the Serpens constellation glitters with starlight - CNN

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Astronomers glimpsed a stellar nursery successful a caller light, acknowledgment to the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy successful Chile.

The VISTA telescope, located astatine the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory successful Antofagasta, Chile, observed the Sh2-54 Nebula successful infrared light, which is invisible to the quality eye.

While disposable light, which is what we tin see, is absorbed by interstellar dust, infrared airy tin pierce done heavy particulate clouds successful abstraction to uncover antecedently unseen details.

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Infrared imagery of nebulae is helping astronomers larn much astir however stars form. The caller representation revealed a wealthiness of stars down the orangish glow of the nebula.

Compare the infrared image, which is filled with starlight, to the disposable airy representation of the Sh2-54 nebula utilizing the slider below.

Multiple nebulae, oregon clouds of state and particulate that substance prima formation, are located astatine the process extremity of the Serpens constellation — truthful named due to the fact that of its resemblance to a serpent. These star-birth hotspots see the Eagle, the Omega and the Sh2-54 nebulae.

Astronomers focused successful connected the Sh2-54 Nebula, located about 6,000 light-years from Earth. The “Sh” successful the cosmic object’s sanction is successful notation to astronomer Stewart Sharpless, who was liable for cataloging much than 300 nebulae successful the 1950s.

The representation was taken utilizing the highly delicate 67 million-pixel camera connected the VISTA scope arsenic portion of the VISTA Variables successful the Via Láctea eXtended survey.

The task repeatedly observes ample regions of the Milky Way successful infrared airy to unlock the mysteries of prima evolution.

Nebulae and stellar nurseries person besides been portion of the absorption of the James Webb Space Telescope, which began technological observations of the beingness successful July 2022.

So far, Webb has revealed glimmering stars nestled successful stellar nurseries similar the Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula and among the famed Pillars of Creation successful the Eagle Nebula.