The Hubble Space Telescope has observed a stunning view of the Prawn Nebula. It is a stellar nursery. It is also known as IC 4628. The massive nursery is located in the constellation Scorpius. It is about 6,000 light-years from Earth. The telescope observed the nursery floating through deep space. The nursery is huge that it stretches over 250 light-years. It covers a space more than four times the size of the full moon. The nursery emits light in wavelengths. A human eye cannot detect it. It appears extremely faint to the viewers. A small section of the nebula is seen in the gaze through the observatory. The telescope is an infrared instrument. It is capable of capturing dazzling detail.
NASA said that the image of the Prawn Nebula shows details of the stellar nursery. The nebula structure has bright areas. The area is of glowing gas. It is an emission nebula. The space agency said that emission means that the nursery’s gas has been energized. The gas is believed to be ionized by the nearby stars’ radiation. The radiation strips electrons from the nursery’s hydrogen atoms. They emit energy in the form of light. This causes the nursery’s gas to glow. NASA said that the photo was captured by the telescope as part of a survey of newly forming stars.
NASA said that astronomers used the telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3. The camera is infrared sensitivity. The ultraviolet light ionized by the newly forming stars allowed astronomers to look for hydrogen ionization. A stellar nursery is a place where new stars are formed. The image is a small portion of the nursery’s gigantic star-forming region. The telescope is a specialist in searching for hydrogen ionization. The telescope is in service for more than three decades. It operates in low Earth orbit and has provided some spectacular views of the cosmos. It has helped scientists in solving space mysteries. NASA describes it as the world’s most complex observatory.