Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Walter Mulligan/Flynn Haase

The appropriately named Rosette nebula is, not unlike a newly bloomed flower, a place of newfound life. Many of the stars within this wreath of gas have just formed. Their energetic winds and emissions of UV radiation are quickly blowing away the surrounding clouds of gas to reveal a new cluster of stars. Many thicker parts of the cloud resist their ultimate demise, and remain in radial structures stubborn to relent to the impressive forces arrayed against them. The initial mass of gas clouds such as this determine how many stars are formed within. A very massive cloud will likely form many stars. Here, the stars in the heart of the Rosette nebula are blowing away the building blocks of more stars and have halted most other star formation. However, there are many globules of gas (Bok Globules) that may contain individual stars still in the process of forming. A high resolution image of one of these regions in Hydrogen-alpha light can be seen by looking at this detail image of the Rosette nebula. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-rosette_mulligan/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License