Explanation:
Pillars of gas, dust, and young, hot stars fill the center
of NGC 7822.
At the edge of a giant
molecular cloud toward the northern
constellation
Cepheus, the glowing star forming region
lies about 3,000 light-years away.
Within the nebula, bright edges and tantalizing shapes are
highlighted in
this colorful skyscape.
The image includes data from both broadband and
narrowband filters,
mapping emission from atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green,
and red hues.
The atomic emission is
powered by the energetic radiation from
the hot stars, whose powerful winds and radiation also sculpt
and erode the denser pillar shapes.
Stars could still be forming
inside the pillars by
gravitational collapse,
but as the pillars are
eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cutoff from their
reservoir of
star stuff.
This field spans around 30 light-years at the estimated distance
of NGC 7822.
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