The interplay of matter and energy creates beautiful sights. We enjoy sunsets and sunrises here on Earth. Nature can create structures that can span hundreds of light-years out in space. The most beautiful objects are the nigches.
Hubble was searching for young stars and their circumstellar disks.
A cloud of dust is the start of a nebula. There are many clouds of dust in space, but it is the proximity of a star that brings a nebula to life. The light from the star reflects off of the gas in the cloud and creates a beautiful display. The way light scatters can cause blue nigches. Blue light is more easily reflected from dust.
Astronomers didn't know what they saw when they spotted a nebula. Astronomers called anything that looked like a cloud a nebula. They called it the galaxies nebulae.
They figured out more things as time went on. In 1912, American astronomer Vesto Slipher understood that light from a nearby star lights the nebulae up rather than being a characteristic of the nebula itself.
Hubble observed a small part of IC2631 in a survey.
Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) is the author of "Hubble: A Novel."
A small part of IC2631 was seen by Hubble in a survey.
Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) is a credit.
The Chamaeleon Cloud Complex is 500 light-years away and contains a reflection nebula called IC 2631. HD 97300 is a star. HD 97300 is a big star that hasn't entered the Main Sequence yet. Nuclear fusion takes place in older stars if enough mass is gathered. Its light comes from the shocks. As gas falls into the young star, it creates shocks on its surface.
The La Silla Observatory is in the Atacama Desert. The image is from the La Silla Observatory.
Hubble was looking for young stars and their disks. Each young star forms with one of the disks. The gas and dust were not taken up by the star. The planets form from this leftover material.
There is no visible disk around HD 97300. There are other features in the picture. There are two dark clouds above the reflection nebula. They are so dense that no light can pass through them. They give a clue to what might happen in the future.
They don't last forever. Once the star matures and gathers more gas, it will enter the main sequence and begin fusion. The star will be smaller and not as bright. The young star is a more brilliant version of its adult self. The star won't light the nebulae up so bright.
There is a lot of gas and dust in the region. They may light up the surrounding gas into another nebula if they do.
If that ever happens, humanity may be gone before that happens. We still have time to enjoy the sights.
