Posted on 02/05/2016 4:32:07 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Massive stars lie within NGC 6357, an expansive emission nebula complex some 6,500 light-years away toward the tail of the constellation Scorpius. In fact, positioned near center in this ground-based close-up of NGC 6357, star cluster Pismis 24 includes some of the most massive stars known in the galaxy, stars with nearly 100 times the mass of the Sun. The nebula's bright central region also contains dusty pillars of molecular gas, likely hiding massive protostars from the prying eyes of optical instruments. Intricate shapes in the nebula are carved as interstellar winds and energetic radiation from the young and newly forming massive stars clear out the natal gas and dust and power the nebular glow. Enhancing the nebula's cavernous appearance, narrowband image data was included in this composite color image in a Hubble palette scheme. Emission from sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms is shown in red green and blue hues. The alluring telescopic view spans about 50 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 6357.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit and Copyright: CHART32 Team; Processing: Johannes Schedler]
Wow!
I love these pics from Hubble but I do have a question: are these colorful images exactly what we would see if we were able to ‘look through the window’ of a spaceship or are they an interpretation, i.e, colors applied by the ‘Hubble palate’ of the various gases and solids in space?
“Only her hairdresser knows for sure”
Sunken,
Thanks for the post and image. It’s jaw-dropping. One thing rattles around in my little six-volt mind. The narrative tells how the image was composed, of multiple layers of various filtered views captured by earthbound instruments, etc.
I get the impression that if we could thumb a ride on a UFO and zip out there to the actual locale, it wouldn’t actually look much like the image in the article. Am I mistaken? What can you tell us about that?
Thanks for any light you can provide.
My Gamma, the Ex, uncle Ray, and cousin Ultraviolet, could make me see Infrared...
Hubble uses Instagram filters.....
Thank you rjsimmon, this is terrific information!
Those stars are still big.
It’s the Universe that got small.
Too bad we cannot launch vehicles to repair/replace it anymore.
Probably you're 100 percent right -- but at least we'd get a ride in a UFO. ;') Like so much of the sky, NGC 6357 is best enjoyed from a distant, it's a "forest for the trees" thing.
Because these images have to be brightened up — that used to be accomplished via time exposure, along with some analog photo processing — the colors are, except where noted, exactly the ones seen, but these images are enhanced to make the colors pop a bit.
;’)
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