Space in Images - 2016 - 09 - Hubble views a cosmic oyster and pearl in NGC 1501
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/09/Hubble_views_a_cosmic_oyster_and_pearl_in_NGC_1501
The world is your oyster, as the expression goes – and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, with its advanced instruments
and favourable location in orbit above Earth’s atmosphere, has far more of the Universe to explore than most.
This image was captured using Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, the camera responsible for many of the telescope’s most beautiful images.
It shows the appropriately nicknamed Oyster Nebula (more formally known as NGC 1501), a candescent cloud some 5000 light-years away from Earth
in the constellation of Camelopardalis.
The Oyster Nebula is a type of cosmic object that is essentially a giant cloud of dust and electrically charged gases. Nebulas are often made
to glow, as seen here, by the radiation from a nearby star. In the case of the Oyster Nebula, that star can be seen as a yellow–orange dot at
the centre of the turquoise cloud, resembling the oyster’s precious pearl.
