'Orion's Fireplace': Flame Nebula is ablaze with color in stunning new image

By Samantha Mathewson published about 14 hours ago

The Flame Nebula rings in the New Year from the constellation Orion in a blazing new photo from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

In the new telescope view, the nebula, nicknamed "Orion's fireplace," looks like an inferno, but it's actually a colorful cloud of interstellar dust and gas and a nursery for new star formation. The cluster of young stars at the center of this emission nebula emit high-energy radiation that causes the surrounding gases to glow brightly, according to a statement from the ESO.

"As astronomers like to say, whenever there is a new telescope or instrument around, observe Orion: there will always be something new and interesting to discover!" Thomas Stanke, a former ESO astronomer and lead author of a new study on the region, said in the statement.



This new image from ESO's Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) radio telescope captures the Flame Nebula, which is the large cosmic feature on the left, and its surroundings within the Orion Constellation. (Image credit: ESO/Th. Stanke & ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit)

The Flame Nebula is located in the Orion constellation, one of the most famous regions in the sky as one of the most active stellar nurseries near Earth. The constellation is home to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which is located between 1,300 and 1,600 light-years away from Earth's neighborhood and where new stars and planets form, according to the statement.

More:
https://www.space.com/orion-flame-nebula-image-eso-telescope