Also known as NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula is a large star-forming region in the constellation of Orion, located about 1,400 light-years from Earth. It is part of the Orion molecular cloud complex, which includes such famous nebulae as the Horsehead Nebula and the Orion Nebula. This image focuses on the dark, dusty heart of the nebula, which contains a star cluster that is mostly invisible. Nearby (but not visible in this image) is the bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion's belt. Alnitak's radiation ionizes the Flame Nebula's hydrogen gas. As the gas cools from its higher-energy state to a lower-energy state, it emits energy in the form of light, causing the visible glow behind the churning dust wisps.
NASA, ESA, and N. Da Rio (University of Virginia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
This is a composite view of X-rays and warm ionized gas near the galactic center. Added a graphic of a translucent vertical white fan to show the suspected axis of a minijet from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy. The orange features are made of glowing hydrogen gas. Such a feature at the tip of the jet is interpreted as a hydrogen cloud hit by the outflowing jet. The jet scatters the cloud in tendrils that flow north. X-ray observations of superheated gas can be seen in green and blue colors further down near the black hole. This data indicates that the black hole occasionally accretes stars or clouds of gas and ejects some of the superheated material along its spin axis. NASA, ESA, and Gerald Cecil (UNC-Chapel Hill); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 3318 stretch lazily across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This spiral galaxy lies in the constellation Vela and is about 115 light-years from Earth.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, European Southern Observatory (ESO), R. J. Foley; Acknowledgment: R. Colombari
The beautiful spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 5907 are not visible in this Hubble image because we are looking at them from the side, like the edge of a plate. For this reason, NGC 5907 is also known as the “Knife Edge” galaxy.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. de Jong; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
This astronomical portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the majestic spiral galaxy UGC 11537 as seen from the side. Hubble's Wide Angle Camera 3 captured the tightly wound spiral arms that wrap around the heart of UGC 11537 at infrared and visible wavelengths, showing both the bright bands of stars and the dark dust clouds that run through the galaxy. UGC 11537 is located 230 million light-years away in the constellation Aquila and lies near the plane of the Milky Way. The proximity to the Milky Way's band of stars means that foreground stars from our own galaxy have crept into the image - the two prominent stars in front of UGC 11537 are interlopers from the interior of the Milky Way. These bright foreground stars are surrounded by diffraction peaks - imaging artifacts caused by the interaction of starlight with Hubble's internal structure. This image comes from a series of observations designed to help astronomers identify supermassive black holes in distant galaxies. The combination of Hubble's sharp observations and data from ground-based telescopes allowed astronomers to create detailed models of the masses of stars in these galaxies, which in turn helps constrain the mass of supermassive black holes. ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Seth
