The nebulas in question are known as the Sh2-54 nebulae and are among the many stunning cosmic structures situated in the tail of the snake constellation Serpens.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has recently captured beautiful new images of these far-off nebulae, which are located at the literal end of the snake constellation in space.
The Sh2-54 nebulae in question are among the numerous awe-inspiring celestial objects that can be found in the Serpens constellation, which represents the tail of a snake. The Eagle Nebula and the Omega Nebula are two other prominent celestial bodies in this region of space.
What is a nebula?
A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space. They serve as stellar nurseries where new stars are created. These regions are essentially just enormous clouds of gases and dust, which combine to aid in the formation of new stars. Nebulae can come in different shapes and sizes, and they are often illuminated by the light of nearby stars or by the energy of newly formed stars within them.
Thanks to advances in telescope technology, scientists can now take a closer look at nebulae like the Sh2-54 nebula located some 6,000 light years away from Earth than ever before. In particular, the ability to obtain such vivid images of the nebula is due to advances in infrared scanning.
Nebulae tend to absorb visible light because of the clouds of dust. As such, they can be hard to see. But infrared light can still pass through dust clouds, although it is not something human eyes are capable of perceiving. With infrared scanning, scientists can capture detailed images of nebulae and study their properties, such as their composition and the processes that occur within them.
Advances in telescopes let scientists see мore of space than ever Ƅefore
Infrared scanning allows researchers to get a closer and more in-depth look at the stellar nursery. An example of this is the 67 million-pixel camera on the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, which captured the images of the Sh2-54 nebula.
These kinds of observations are crucial because they teach scientists more about how stars are formed and the many other still-mysterious processes that take place in our universe. And as telescope technology develops further, we will undoubtedly see more discoveries and pictures similar to this one.
NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021, and since then, this highly advanced telescope has taken numerous breathtaking images, as well as provided valuable scientific data for researchers. This is thanks to the incredibly technologically-advanced tools at its disposal, which allow it to see farther and in greater detail than any space telescope before it.
depiction of the giant Magellan Telescope at night (credit: WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE)
The Large Magellan Telescope, another advanced space telescope under development in Chile, is anticipated to significantly advance our understanding of space by producing new, better images.
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot is developing Israel’s own space telescope, ULTRASAT, which is scheduled to launch sometime in 2025.
Soucre: jpost.com
