The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a breathtaking image of swirling clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, a massive star-forming region located 160,000 light-years away. The nebula, situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is the most active stellar nursery in our cosmic neighborhood, producing some of the most massive stars ever observed.
The image shows delicate tendrils and dense patches of dark dust, highlighting the importance of this tiny component of the universe. Unlike household dust, which is composed of skin cells, soil, and plastic, cosmic dust is made up mainly of carbon and silicate molecules containing silicon and oxygen.
Cosmic dust plays a crucial role in the formation of planets and stars. As dust grains accumulate around young stars, they form larger clumps that eventually become planets. Dust also cools gas clouds, allowing them to condense into new stars. Furthermore, dust facilitates the creation of new molecules in interstellar space, enabling individual atoms to bond together.
This research project, which uses data from the Hubble Telescope, aims to study the properties of cosmic dust in nearby galaxies. The findings shed light on the vital role that dust plays in shaping our universe’s structure and evolution.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/hubble-captures-a-stunning-cosmic-cloud-that-builds-stars