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Collection:
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NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection
Collection
NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Stellar
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Full Description:
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This eerie, dark structure, resembling an imaginary sea serpent's head, is a column of cool molecular hydrogen gas (two atoms of hydrogen in each molecule) and dust that is an incubator for new stars. The stars are embedded inside finger-like protrusions extending from the top of the nebula. Each "fingertip" is somewhat larger than our own solar system. The pillar is slowly eroding away by the ultraviolet light from nearby hot stars, a process called "photoevaporation." As it does, small globules of especially dense gas buried within the cloud is uncovered. These globules have been dubbed "EGGs" -- an acronym for "Evaporating Gaseous Globules." The shadows of the EGGs protect gas behind them, resulting in the finger-like structures at the top of the cloud. Forming inside at least some of the EGGs are embryonic stars -- stars that abruptly stop growing when the EGGs are uncovered and they are separated from the larger reservoir of gas from which they were drawing mass. Eventually the stars emerge, as the EGGs themselves succumb to photoevaporation. The stellar EGGS are found, appropriately enough, in the "Eagle Nebula" (also called M16 -- the 16th object in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog of "fuzzy" permanent objects in the sky), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. The picture was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly-ionized oxygen atoms.
Full_Description
This eerie, dark structure, resembling an imaginary sea serpent's head, is a column of cool molecular hydrogen gas (two atoms of hydrogen in each molecule) and dust that is an incubator for new stars. The stars are embedded inside finger-like protrusions extending from the top of the nebula. Each "fingertip" is somewhat larger than our own solar system. The pillar is slowly eroding away by the ultraviolet light from nearby hot stars, a process called "photoevaporation." As it does, small globules of especially dense gas buried within the cloud is uncovered. These globules have been dubbed "EGGs" -- an acronym for "Evaporating Gaseous Globules." The shadows of the EGGs protect gas behind them, resulting in the finger-like structures at the top of the cloud. Forming inside at least some of the EGGs are embryonic stars -- stars that abruptly stop growing when the EGGs are uncovered and they are separated from the larger reservoir of gas from which they were drawing mass. Eventually the stars emerge, as the EGGs themselves succumb to photoevaporation. The stellar EGGS are found, appropriately enough, in the "Eagle Nebula" (also called M16 -- the 16th object in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog of "fuzzy" permanent objects in the sky), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. The picture was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly-ionized oxygen atoms.
Full Description
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Date:
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4/1/1995
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NASA Center:
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Hubble Space Telescope Center
NASA_Center
Hubble Space Telescope Center
NASA Center
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Subject Category:
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Deep Space Studies
Subject_Category
Deep Space Studies
Subject Category
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Subject Category:
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Hubble
Subject_Category
Hubble
Subject Category
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Keywords:
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Space
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Keywords:
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Field
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Keywords:
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Camera
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Keywords:
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of
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Keywords:
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Telescope
Keywords
Telescope
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Wide
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Keywords:
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Planetary
Keywords
Planetary
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Hubble
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Keywords:
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HST
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Keywords:
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Nebula
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Keywords:
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WFPC
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Keywords:
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M16
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Keywords:
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Serpens
Keywords
Serpens
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Evaporating
Keywords
Evaporating
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Gaseous
Keywords
Gaseous
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Globules
Keywords
Globules
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Fingers
Keywords
Fingers
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Pillars
Keywords
Pillars
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Creation
Keywords
Creation
Keywords
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Keywords:
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EGG
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Keywords:
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Constellation
Keywords
Constellation
Keywords
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Audience:
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General Public
Audience
General Public
Audience
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facet_what:
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Camera 2
facet_what
Camera 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Serpens
facet_what
Serpens
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_when:
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18th century
facet_when
18th century
facet_when
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facet_when:
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April 1, 1995
facet_when
April 1, 1995
facet_when
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facet_when:
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4-1-1995
facet_when
4-1-1995
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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1995
facet_when_year
1995
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PR95-44D
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original_url:
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original_url
original_url
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UID:
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SPD-GRIN-GPN-2000-00 1947
UID
SPD-GRIN-GPN-2000-00 1947
UID
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Center:
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HSTI
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Center Number:
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PR95-44D
Center_Number
PR95-44D
Center Number
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GRIN DataBase Number:
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GPN-2000-001947
GRIN_DataBase_Number
GPN-2000-001947
GRIN DataBase Number
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Original Source:
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DIGITAL
Original_Source
DIGITAL
Original Source
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