A bubblegum-pink nebula

This Picture of the Week shows Gum 46, a stunning gas cloud 5500 light-years away, observed in brand new detail with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). But why does it glow pink?

At the heart of Gum 46 there’s a young, hot and blue star called HD311999. Its intense radiation excites atoms in the surrounding gas, which then re-emit this energy at very specific colours or wavelengths. The pink shade that dominates this image is due to hydrogen atoms, the most abundant element in this nebula and the Universe as a whole.

The dark wispy clouds that surround the nebula make for a stunning sight too. These clouds are not intrinsically dark: they are extremely dense regions of dust that block light passing through them, enshrouding the glowing heart of Gum 46.

This image was created as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems programme, an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of education and public outreach. The programme makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. All data collected may also be suitable for scientific purposes, and are made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:potw2420a
Type:Observation
Release date:13 May 2024, 06:00
Size:1627 x 1667 px

About the Object

Name:Gum 46
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission
Distance:5500 light years
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Large JPEG
471.9 KB
Screensize JPEG
207.3 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
195.8 KB
1280x1024
277.2 KB
1600x1200
375.1 KB
1920x1200
404.4 KB
2048x1536
516.0 KB

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
b
440 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
v
557 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
R
655 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
H-alpha
656 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2