Astronomers picture a “snake spawning” in space

New file registration Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy It reveals a stellar nursery in the tail of the constellation Serpent.

When you look up at the night sky, by drawing imaginary lines between the stars – with a little imagination – you can see all kinds of shapes. Destiny is a good example of this. Like the Big Dipper. And you are not the only one who looks at the night sky like this; The Greeks did it too, and it was their imagination that prompted them to name a group of stars that looked like a serpent (serpent).

obstructed fog
But what the ancient Greeks couldn’t see was that this snake’s tail harbored all sorts of cool things, like the famous Eagle Nebula (which James Webb mentioned recently). Stunningly beautiful piece photographed). But the Sh2-54 nebula can also be found here. Astronomers have now taken a stunning infrared image of it.

Cloud of gas and dust
The Sh2-54 nebula is actually nothing more than a huge cloud of gas and dust. In this cloud, located in the tail of the constellation Serpent, new stars see the light of day. However, the visible light emitted by these stars is blocked by the blankets of dust that surround them. This makes it invisible. Unless you have a powerful infrared telescope at your disposal. Because infrared light travels almost unimpeded through this dust.

And scientists are now doing it with help Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy I looked at the starry nursery in the tail of the Serpens. The result is an image that contains a wealth of stars that would normally be obscured by dust in visible light.

On the left is the S2-24 nebula in infrared, captured by the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). On the right is the nebula in visible light, captured by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). Images: ESO/VVVX (left) and ESO (right).

important recordings
These types of recordings are very valuable to astronomers. It helps get a better picture of what’s going on in these stellar nurseries. This will also help researchers better understand how stars form and evolve.

Regarding the latter, we can expect new insights and discoveries in the coming years. This latest image was taken as part of a multi-year research project in which much of our galaxy has been studied over and over at infrared wavelengths with VISTA.