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A recently released photo shows the “Cone Nebula” in stunning detail. It is about 2,500 light years away.
The image was released on Thursday by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), marking the institute’s 60th anniversary.
The nebula was captured earlier this year by ESO’s Very Large Telescope, one of the largest in the world, located in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
An annotated image shows the nebula in a wide view of the sky. ESO/Insider
Nebulae are star factories. The dense cloud of cosmic dust and gas is the perfect breeding ground for new, bright stars, some of which can be seen near the top of the cloud in the image above.
The Cone Nebula’s shape is due to a star at the edge of the nebula ejecting gas and dust as it forms, compressing the dust into a dense, pillar-like shape, according to an accompanying press release.
At a distance of about 2,500 light years from Earth, the Cone Nebula is relatively close to us, which makes it easy to observe.
To find the Cone Nebula, scientists pointed their telescope toward the constellation Monoceros (unicorn), about halfway between the stars Betelgeuse and Procyon.
The Cone Nebula Can Be Found on the Edge of the Constellation of the Unicorn (Unicorn) ESO
The constellation of the Unicorn is visible in the winter sky from the Northern Hemisphere.
ESO’s Very Large Telescope is one of the largest telescopes in the world.
