The Monkey Head Nebula is a region of star birth located 6,400 light-years away. It is also known as NGC 2174 and Sharpless Sh2-252. In 2014, astronomers using Hubble's powerful infrared vision imaged a small portion of the nebula in the area of the monkey's "eye."
The nebula is mostly composed of hydrogen gas. The cloud is sculpted by ultraviolet light carving into the cool hydrogen gas and dust. As the interstellar dust particles are warmed from the radiation from the stars in the center of the nebula, they heat up and begin to glow at infrared wavelengths.
This Hubble mosaic unveils a collection of carved knots of gas and dust silhouetted against glowing gas. Massive, newly formed stars near the center of the nebula (and toward the right in this image) are blasting away at dust within the nebula. Ultraviolet light from these bright stars helps sculpt the dust into giant pillars.
The prime source of energy in the nebula is the massive, hot star named HD 42088, which is outside the Hubble image field. This star has a mass 30 times that of the Sun and a surface temperature 6 times greater. Such stars emit extraordinary amounts of ultraviolet radiation. The high-energy particles in these stars' outer atmospheres are being blown away in high-speed "stellar winds."
The ultraviolet radiation causes the nebula to shine. In combination with the stellar wind, this radiation also causes the nebula to expand. Dust and gas are being evaporated and scattered by the energy from the hot star. Where there is a very dense condensation, a pillar is formed pointing toward the star, because the knot shields the material behind it.
If the knot is dense enough, rather than scattering, it may be pushed to collapse into a new star. Such an event is occurring in a pillar above center right of the image. This cannot be seen in visible light, because those wavelengths are blocked by the pillar's dust. The new star will eventually shed its dusty cocoon and emerge to be seen in optical wavelengths.
Using a variety of observations including those from Hubble, scientists are studying the whole nebular region to understand the progression of star formation across it. Of particular interest are the embedded contents of the pillars and the generation from which they originated.
Constellation: Orion
Distance: 6,400 light-years (2,000 parsecs)
Instrument: Wide Field Camera 3/IR
Image Filters: F105W (Y), F125W (J), F160W (H)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 2174, Monkey Head Nebula, Sharpless Sh2-252 |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
