Roses are Red
Image Credit & Copyright:
Raffaele Calcagno
Roses are red, nebulas are too, and this Valentine's gift is a
stunning view!
Pictured is a loving look at the
Rosette Nebula
(NGC 2237):
a cosmic bloom of bright young stars sitting atop a
stem of glowing hot gas.
The rose’s blue-white speckles are among the
most luminous stars in the galaxy,
with some burning millions of times brighter than the Sun.
Their stellar winds
sculpt the famed rose shape by pushing gas and dust away from the center.
Though only a few million years old, these massive stars are
already nearing the
end of their lives,
while dimmer stars embedded in the nebula will burn for billions
of years to come.
The vibrant red hue comes from
hydrogen gas,
ionized by the
ultraviolet light from the young stars.
The rose’s blue-white center is
color-mapped to indicate the presence of similarly ionized oxygen.
The Rosette Nebula reminds us of the beauty and transformation
woven into the fabric of the universe.