ROSETTE NEBULA

5000 light-years

The Rosette Nebula is a cosmic cloud of gas and dust. This view shows a long stem of glowing hydrogen gas. At the edge of a large molecular cloud, the petals of this rose are actually a stellar nursery whose symmetrical shape is sculpted by winds and radiation from its central cluster of hot young stars. The stars in the energetic group are only a few million years old, and the central cavity in the nebula is about 50 light-years in diameter.

Credit: Adam Block and Tim Puckett.

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