Hubble Space Telescope snaps spectacular image of Orion Nebula

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped an amazing image of Orion Nebula with the help of two of its special instruments.

Orion Nebula, which is 1450 light-years from Earth, was captured by NASA's Hubble Telescope. (ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Bally, M. Robberto)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been in orbit since 1990. It has been in service for more than 32 years and since then it has delivered some spectacular views of space, star formations, nebulae, galaxies, exoplanets, and much more. The latest breathtaking image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope shows a stunning view of the bright variable star V 372 Orionis. It also captured a smaller companion star in the upper left of this image. Both of these stars are located in the Orion Nebula, a massive star forming region that is roughly 1450 light-years away from Earth.

Data from two Hubble instruments are superimposed on this image. Rich details of this region of the Orion Nebula were discovered by combining infrared and visible wavelength data from the Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. Diffraction spikes that encircle the dazzling stars in this celestial image are another subtle mark that Hubble placed on it.

An intense point source of light, such as starlight, interacts with the four vanes inside Hubble that support the telescope's secondary mirror to create the four spikes that surround the brightest stars in the shared image by Hubble Telescope.

V 372 Orionis Nebula

This is a variable star, known as Orion Variable. NASA mentioned that “these young stars experience some tempestuous moods and growing pains, which are visible to astronomers as irregular variations in luminosity.” However, the patchy gas and dust of the Orion Nebula dominate this image, which is common with Orion Variables and V 372 Orionis in particular.

Amazing facts about Nebula?

Nebulae are found in the space between the stars, which is also known as interstellar space. NASA confirmed that the closest known nebula to Earth is called the Helix Nebula, which is the remnant of a dying star and is approximately 700 light-years away from Earth. That means even if you could travel at the speed of light, it would take you 700 years to get there!