Rosette Nebula

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The appropriately named Rosette nebula is, not unlike a newly bloomed flower, a place of new found life. Many of the stars within this wreath of gas have just formed. Their energetic winds and emissions of UV radiation are quickly blowing away the surrounding clouds of gas to reveal a new cluster of stars. Many thicker parts of the cloud resist their ultimate demise, and remain in radial structures stubborn to relent to the impressive forces arrayed against them. The initial mass of gas clouds such as this often determine how many stars are formed within. A very massive cloud might form many stars. Here the stars in the heart of the Rosette nebula are blowing away the building blocks of more stars and have stopped most of the star formation from occuring. However, there are many globules of gas (Bok Globules) that may contain individual stars still in the process of forming. A high resolution image of one of these regions in Hydrogen-alpha light can be seen by looking at this detail image of the Rosette nebula.

Equipment

Minimum credit line: Walter Mulligan/Flynn Haase/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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Updated: 03/30/2006