To celebrate Valentine's Day, we are releasing a new image of the Cocoon Nebula (officially named IC 5146). This heart-shaped nebula is a region in the Milky Way galaxy where new stars are forming. X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (red, green, and blue) reveal a cluster of new stars that are just poking through the stunning nebula. Young stars, like those in the Cocoon Nebula, are very active and give off large amounts of X-rays that Chandra can detect.
The nebula itself glows from a combination of light that is emitted by the young stars as well as light that is reflected off the dust in the nebula. This composite image of the Cocoon Nebula contains an optical-light image (red, green, and blue) from astrophotographers Michael Adler and Barry Wilson, as well as infrared light data (red, yellow, and cyan) from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission.
The Cocoon Nebula is about 15 light-years across and is located about 2,650 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
This image shows the Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) as a glowing, heart-shaped cloud set against a dense backdrop of countless stars scattered across the Milky Way. The nebula's center is filled with warm reds, oranges, and golds, forming a luminous cocoon of gas and dust with soft, uneven edges that fade into the surrounding darkness.
Embedded within this glowing cloud are many young stars, some appearing as bright white or bluish points, while others are hidden and revealed only through X-ray light detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These X-rays trace a cluster of newly formed, highly active stars concentrated near the nebula's core.
The heart-shaped nebula itself shines through a mix of light emitted by these young stars and starlight reflected off surrounding dust. Optical data from two astrophotographers and infrared observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer provide depth and texture, revealing a sparkling star field and the thick, dusty structures where new stars continue to form.
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