The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regularly captures stunning images of our universe, leaving space lovers mesmerized. The social media handles of the US Space Agency are a treasure trove for those who love to watch educational videos and fascinating images showcasing Earth and space. Now, in its recent post, the agency's Hubble Space Telescope shared a picture of the "fierce and fabulous" Tarantula Nebula.
In the image, a cluster of glowing blue stars is seen closer to the right side in the centre of the image. The stars are clustered in the centre and then sparsely distributed across the image. The stars are also surrounded by burnt orange and tan-coloured gas and dust, which encompass the entire image. Further, the nebula's core is dominated by a dark formation.
The Hubble telescope obtained data in ultraviolet light, which can only be viewed from space, as part of a comprehensive survey known as Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards, according to NASA. This data will aid astronomers in their studies for decades to come. Over three years, data on approximately 500 stars was gathered which provided fresh insights into star formation, evolution, and the effects of their surroundings.
“Two categories of stars were studied in this survey: Super-hot massive stars and young less massive stars. The super-hot massive, blue stars are a million times brighter than the Sun and have a fierce glow in ultraviolet light which can be easily detected by Hubble. These stars have powerful winds that drive galaxy evolution. ULLYSES targeted these blue stars in nearby galaxies because they were common in the early universe,” the space agency added.
During their early stages of development, young stars that were less in mass than the Sun released high-energy radiation as well as bursts of X-rays and ultraviolet light. As the stars are still growing, “they continue to gather material from their surroundings.”
The survey comprises the method by which stars attain their mass and the amount of energy that is discharged into the surrounding environment. As per NASA, “These observations are just a stepping stone to understanding the first stars of the universe and how they impacted the evolution of the galaxy.”
