NASA has created a baffling puzzle that is out of this world.
The US space agency shared the puzzle on its Hubble Telescope Instagram page, challenging viewers to name the cosmic wonder within 15 seconds.
The short video shows only parts of a star-forming region 1,350 light-years from Earth, revealing more of its glowing gas and dust as the seconds pass.
Hubble first observed this dense region of space in 1993, capturing a gigantic cloud of gas illuminated by the brightest young stars.
The short video shows only parts of a star-forming region 1,350 light-years from Earth, revealing more of its glowing gas and dust as the seconds pass.
“It is the closest star-forming region to Earth. It is named after a hunter from mythology,” NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope shared in the caption.
“It is also home to four young, massive stars called Trapezium, which give shape to this nebula. Do you know what this Hubble image shows?”
The correct answer is the Orion Nebula, which formed about two million years ago.
The Orion Nebula is about 24 light-years across (one light-year is about six trillion miles) and is the closest large star-forming region to Earth, allowing it to be seen with the naked eye.
It was discovered in 1610 by the French scholar Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc and first photographed in 1880 by the American physician Henry Draper.
Draper’s image featured a black background with what appeared to be glowing white gas and light exploding in the sky.
‘The nebula is a massive cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being formed,’ NASA shared in a blog post.
‘Its bright central region is home to four young, massive stars that shape the nebula.
The correct answer is the Orion Nebula which formed about two million years ago.
‘The four huge stars are called Trapezium because they are arranged in a trapezoidal pattern.
‘The ultraviolet light released by these stars is creating a cavity in the nebula and disrupting the growth of hundreds of smaller stars.’
Hubble last photographed the nebula in 2004, but its view was obscured by large amounts of stardust.
However, NASA The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) released the next snapshot in 2022 that showed new details.
The nebula had previously been photographed by the Hubble telescope (left) in 2004, but this device uses visible light and its view was obscured by the large amounts of stardust. James Webb (right) was able to capture infrared light, allowing him to look beyond the dust.
The image captured an open cluster of young, massive stars that shape the cloud of dust and gas with its intense radiation and dense filaments that may play a key role in the birth of new stars.
The new stars emit light that in turn causes the gas cloud to turn stunning red, blue and green colors.
Emilie Habart, Associate Professor at the Institute of Space Astrophysics (IAS), said in a 2022 statement: ‘We have never been able to see the intricate details of how interstellar matter is structured in these environments, and figure out how planetary systems can form in the presence of this harsh radiation.
‘These images reveal the legacy of the interstellar medium in planetary systems.’