Images from outer space, returned by the Hubble Telescope, reveal a strange, undiscovered opening in the universe.
The Hubble telescope, which has served as mankind' eyes and
ears in deep space for more than three decades, has once again astounded
scientists across the globe by beaming back photos of a cosmic keyhole. The
mirror nebula NGC 1999, located in the constellation Orion, has been captured
in a picture by the airborne observatory.
The nebula is located in the area of massive star formation
that is the closest to Earth and is about 1,350 light years distant. According
to NASA, NGC 1999 is made up of leftover material from a newly formed star and
is a remnant of recent star formation. The picture depicts NGC 1999 shining
under the illumination of an embedded source, much like fog enveloping a
streetlight.
 |
This portrait from Hubble Space Telescope's data showcases
NGC 1999. (Photo: Nasa) |
The newborn star V380 Orionis, which is seen in the image's
center, is the source in the instance of NGC 1999, according to a statement
from Nasa. The picture has a large, obvious hole in the middle of it that
resembles a cosmic-sized keyhole of inky blackness.
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 archived data from soon after
Servicing Mission 3A in 1999 were used to create the picture. According to
NASA, scientists at the time thought the black area in NGC 1999 was a Bok
globule, a compact, icy cloud of gas, molecules, and cosmic dust that blocks
out background light.
However, further investigations showed that the black patch
is essentially an empty area of space, and the cause of this mysterious gap in
the center of NGC 1999 is still unclear. A variety of telescopes, including the
Herschel Space Observatory from the ESA, were used by astronomers to examine
the cosmic feature.
Despite the functioning of the James Webb Telescope, Hubble
continued to astound the globe. The space-based observatory captured a pair of
colliding galaxies in outer space in October against a surreal backdrop of
light from faraway stars and galaxies.