Τα «φωτογραφικά γενέθλια» του Hubble. Hubble revisits the Monkey Head Nebula for 24th birthday snap

Δείτε την εντυπωσιακή εικόνα της Κεφαλής του Πιθήκου. To celebrate its 24th year in orbit, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has released this beautiful new image of part of NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula. NGC 2174 lies about 6400 light-years away in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter). Hubble previously viewed this part of the sky back in 2011 — the colourful region is filled with young stars embedded within bright wisps of cosmic gas and dust. This portion of the Monkey Head Nebula was imaged in the infrared using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Αν και τα γενέθλια του Hubble είναι στις 24 Απριλίου (τότε εκτοξεύτηκε το 1990 ο πατριάρχης των διαστημικών τηλεσκοπίων) η NASA έδωσε τώρα στη δημοσιότητα την καθιερωμένη «εορταστική» εικόνα με την οποία κάθε χρόνο μας θυμίζει την παρουσία και τεράστια συμβολή του τηλεσκοπίου στην διαστημική εξερεύνηση.

This image, a composite of red and blue exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2, shows the region of sky surrounding NGC 2174, more popularly known as the Monkey Head Nebula. To celebrate its 24th year observing Hubble revisited the Monkey Head Nebula and a brand new image was released of one of its breathtaking pillars. The small square near the centre of this image is where the pillar can be found. Credit: NASA, ESA, Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, Palomar/Caltech

Φέτος η NASA επέλεξε μια καταπληκτική εικόνα που τράβηξε το Hubble το 2001. Πρόκειται για το Νεφέλωμα της Κεφαλής του Πιθήκου.

This image compares two views of the same detailed area in the star-forming nebula NGC 2174 from the Hubble Space Telescope. On the left is a visible-light image made by WFPC2 observations taken in 2001 — and released in 2011 — and on the right is an image made by the WFC3 infrared camera. Infrared light penetrates more dust and gas than visible light, allowing details to become visible. A jet of material from a newly forming star is visible in one of the pillars, just above and left of centre in the right-hand image. Several galaxies are seen in the infrared view, much more distant than the columns of dust and gas. Credit: NASA and ESA. Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and J. Hester

Γνωστό και ως NGC 2174, το νέφος των αερίων και της σκόνης βρίσκεται σε απόσταση 6.400 ετών φωτός από τον αστερισμό του Ωρίωνα.

This image shows the region of NGC 2174, taken in infrared and released for Hubble's 24th birthday, in its wider context. On the left is a ground based image taken by an amateur astrophotographer of the star-forming nebula in visible light, with an outline showing the area of the detailed Hubble image. On the right is a small detail of a star-forming column in the nebula, made by Hubble's WFC3 infrared camera. Credit: NASA and ESA. Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and R. Crisp

Αυτού του είδους τα νεφελώματα είναι δημοφιλείς στόχοι του Hubble, αφού οι πολύχρωμες στήλες αερίων και τα πύρινα φωτεινά άστρα τους δημιουργούν εντυπωσιακές συνθέσεις που μοιάζουν πραγματικά με πίνακες ζωγραφικής.

In April of this year, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will be celebrating 24 years of observing. To celebrate this milestone, the observatory is releasing a brand new image of part of NGC 2174, otherwise known as the Monkey Head nebula. This new Hubblecast episode showcases this beautiful image, which views a colourful region filled with young stars embedded within bright wisps of cosmic gas and dust. Credit: ESA/Hubble

Η περιοχή που καλύπτει η φετινή φωτογραφία είναι γεμάτη από νεαρά άστρα που λάμπουν μέσα στην κοσμική ύλη, στη σκόνη και τα αέρια. Η σκοτεινή σκόνη των νεφών διογκώνεται προς τα έξω, πλαισιωμένη στο φόντο ενός φωτεινού μπλε αερίου.