ESO’s telescope sees a mighty star factory looming in space

In honor of ESO’s 60th anniversary, the observatory is releasing an impressive image of the Cone Nebula. And this ‘star factory’ shines in the picture like never before.

The so-called Cone Nebula is a beautiful nebula in the constellation Unicorn. The nebula is less than 2,500 light-years away, making it relatively close to Earth. It is not without reason that the Cone Nebula is a popular research object and has been photographed many times. However, the new photo is more impressive than all the previous ones. Because wouldn’t you agree that the dark, impenetrable cloud structure of the nebula in this photo makes it look a lot like a monstrous creature?

star factory
The new image, taken by ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), shows the seven-light-year column of the Cone Nebula at its center. It is part of the larger star-forming region NGC 2264. New and young stars form in the columns of gas and dust, hence the nickname “star factory”. The Cone Nebula was discovered in the late 1800s by the famous astronomer William Herschel.

This image, taken with the FOcal Reducer and Low Dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) on ESO’s VLT in Chile, shows hydrogen gas in blue and sulfur gas in red. Using these filters, the otherwise bright blue stars, which are a sign of recent star formation, appear almost golden and shimmer against the dark nebula. Image: ESO

How exactly did the characteristic columns appear? Pillar-like structures form in giant clouds of cold molecular gas and dust, known as stellar nurseries. Such structures form when massive, newly formed bright blue stars emit strong winds and intense ultraviolet radiation that pull material away from their surroundings. As a result, gas and dust at a greater distance from young stars are compressed into dense, dark, and tall “columns.” And that’s how the Cone Nebula was born.

Birthday
The photo of the mighty star factory was taken in honor of ESO’s 60th anniversary. “On October 5, 1962, five countries signed the treaty establishing the ESO,” the ESO wrote in a statement. “Now, six decades later, and supported by 16 Member States and strategic partners, ESO brings together scientists and engineers from around the world to build and operate state-of-the-art observatories in Chile, enabling groundbreaking astronomical discoveries. On the occasion of ESO’s 60th anniversary, we are releasing this remarkable new image of the Cone Nebula taken earlier this year and selected by ESO staff.

The secrets of the universe
Over the past sixty years, ESO has made a significant contribution to unraveling the mysteries of the universe. For example, they were already making the first photo of an exoplanetthey thoroughly investigated the black hole that resides at the heart of our own galaxy and found them proof of the accelerated expansion of the universe.

We can expect a lot more. Because right now, in the remote Chilean Atacama Desert, ESO is building a colossal telescope aptly named the “Extremeley Large Telescope” (ELT). This monster telescope will be equipped with the most advanced instruments, with which astronomers will be able to study the universe in even greater detail. “With our current facilities and the upcoming ELT, we will continue to answer humanity’s greatest questions about the Universe and enable unimagined discoveries,” ESO concludes.