Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has once again captured a celestial beauty. This time, the image is of an emission-line star known as IRAS 12196-6300.
Releasing the stunning image on its official website, NASA says that it is located just under 2,300 light-years from Earth and displays prominent emission lines, meaning that the star’s light, dispersed into a spectrum, shows up as a rainbow of colors marked with a characteristic pattern of dark and bright lines. The characteristics of these lines, when compared to the “fingerprints” left by particular atoms and molecules, can be used to reveal IRAS 12196-6300’s chemical composition.
NASA further reported that under 10 million years old and not yet burning hydrogen at its core, unlike the sun, this star is still in its infancy. Further evidence of IRAS 12196-6300’s youth is provided by the presence of reflection nebulae. These hazy clouds, pictured floating above and below IRAS 12196-6300, are created when light from a star reflects off a high concentration of nearby dust, such as the dusty material still remaining from IRAS 12196-6300’s formation.
Hubble Space Telescope has made more than 1.2 million observations since its mission began in 1990. Hubble does not travel to stars, planets or galaxies. It takes pictures of them as it whirls around Earth at about 17,000 mph.
(Source: NASA/ESA)
