Jakarta –
Christmas tree with twinkling lights has become a Christmas tradition in many countries. Not only in houses on Earth, Christmas trees can be found in outer space.
NASA recently discovered a star cluster with a shape and color that is very similar to a Christmas tree. This star cluster was discovered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
This star cluster has the official name NGC 2264 but is nicknamed the ‘Christmas Tree Cluster’. NASA says this star cluster is still in the Milky Way galaxy, about 2,500 light years from Earth.
The stars that are part of this cluster are still quite young, with ages ranging from one to five million years. They also vary in size, some are small and some have a mass seven times greater than the sun.
The composite image shared by NASA shows a star cluster with a triangular shape rotated 160 degrees so that it looks more like a Christmas tree. The green color that dominates this star cluster is not a leaf, but a cloud of gas.
NASA also shared an animated version of this composite image with blue and white twinkling like lights on a Christmas tree. This blue and white glow is a young star that emits X-rays.
Apart from the Christmas tree in space, NASA also shared Christmas-themed photos taken by the Hubble space telescope. This photo shows billions of stars shining in a dwarf galaxy called UGC 8091, as quoted from CNN, Friday (22/12/2023).
Kerdil Galaxy UGC 8091 Photo: ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIR/ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESA, Yumi Choi (NSF’s NOIRLab), Karoline Gilbert (STScI), Julianne Dalcanton (Center for Computational Astrophysics/Flatiron Inst., UWashington)
The galaxy UGC 8091 is in the constellation Virgo which is about seven million light years from Earth. This photo taken by the Hubble telescope shows a galaxy that is predominantly red with blue dots behind it.
The blue color in this composite image comes from newborn stars, while the glowing red and pink colors likely come from heated hydrogen molecules interacting with light from the star.
Watch the video “Seashell Christmas Tree Appearance Wins Muri Record”
(vmp/afr)
2023-12-21 23:15:50
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