Rosette Nebula
20 Aug 2015 by qmjwtjwqdb.d qmjwtjwqdb.d
Measuring 50 light years in diameter, the large, round Rosette Nebula is found on the edge of a molecular cloud in the constellation of Monoceros the Unicorn.
At the core of the nebula the very hot young stars have heated the surrounding gaseous shell to a temperature in the order of 6 million kelvins resulting in the emission of copious amounts of X-rays. Here the photographer has applied a false colour palette to several pictures using narrowband filters, which only allow a specific colour of light to reach the camera, with each one linked to an interstellar gas, resulting in the striking blues and oranges. This stunning image is one of the shortlisted pictures for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition organised by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. The awards will be announced on 17 September.
Roseta-NBv5 © Juan Ignacio Jimenez (Spain)
