A keyhole-shaped dark cavity, the “NGC 1999” reflection nebula photographed by Hubble | Sorae Portal site to space

This is the constellation Orion, which is about 1,350 light years away.Reflection Nebula “NGC 1999”The reflection nebula is a collection of gases and dustMolecular clouds reflect starlightA nebula that appears to shine when it is a type of nebula different from an emission nebula that glows with ionized gas light.

In the case of NGC 1999, a young star near the center“V380 Orionis”According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the gas and dust that makes up NGC 1999 are leftover material from the formation of V380 Orionis.

Of particular note is the visible dark region near the center of NGC 1999. Because of its shape, the ESA“Cosmic Keyhole”pass.

in 2000“Hubble”At the time the 1999 images of NGC 1999 taken by the Space Telescope were released, this part“Bok Globule”Bok’s globules were thought to be dark nebulae that appear in the HII region, which are relatively small molecular clouds with a high density of gas and dust. A dense particle cloud containing dust was thought to block visible light, making it appear dark.

Connection:Young stars and dark clouds floating in a sea of ​​red light, emission nebula in the constellation Centaurus

But then it was run by the European Space Agency“Herschel”Using a space telescope to observe NGC 1999 at infrared wavelengths, this part ishollow in appearanceIt was revealed in 2010 that the cavity of NGC 1999 was likely formed by jets and radiation from young stars born in this region.

The image above was aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.Wide Field Camera 2 (WFPC2)The Paranal Observatory (Chile) operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO)VLT Survey Telescope (VST)Wide angle camera installed in「omega camIt was created based on the image (using a total of 6 types of visible-light filters) obtained with, and released by the European Space Agency on October 24, 2022 as the Hubble Space Telescope image this week.

Connection:Orion’s “Her Big Halo Objects” HH 1 and HH 2

source

• Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll
• European Space Agency / Hubble Cosmic keyhole

Text / Matsumura Takehiro