South of Antares [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], in the tail of the nebula-rich [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628 [
http://www.aao.gov.…]. Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, radiate the nebula [
http://en.wikipedia…] with invisible ultraviolet light, stripping electrons from atoms. The electrons eventually recombine with the atoms to produce the visible nebular glow [
http://vis.sdsc.edu…]. This narrow band [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] image adopts a typical false-color mapping [
http://hubblesite.o…meaning_of_color/eag le.shtml ] of the atomic emission, showing hydrogen emission in green hues, sulfur as red and oxygen as blue. At an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years, the region shown is about 250 light-years across. The nebula is also cataloged as [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] Gum 56 for Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum, but seafood-loving astronomers might know [
http://seds.lpl.ari…d-names.html ] this cosmic cloud as The Prawn Nebula [
http://www.martinpu…Nebulae/IC4628.htm ].
Explanation
South of Antares [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], in the tail of the nebula-rich [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628 [
http://www.aao.gov.…]. Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, radiate the nebula [
http://en.wikipedia…] with invisible ultraviolet light, stripping electrons from atoms. The electrons eventually recombine with the atoms to produce the visible nebular glow [
http://vis.sdsc.edu…]. This narrow band [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] image adopts a typical false-color mapping [
http://hubblesite.o…meaning_of_color/eag le.shtml ] of the atomic emission, showing hydrogen emission in green hues, sulfur as red and oxygen as blue. At an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years, the region shown is about 250 light-years across. The nebula is also cataloged as [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] Gum 56 for Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum, but seafood-loving astronomers might know [
http://seds.lpl.ari…d-names.html ] this cosmic cloud as The Prawn Nebula [
http://www.martinpu…Nebulae/IC4628.htm ].
Explanation
