The origin of this unexplained rift in the heart of NGC 1999 remains unknown. However, follow-up observations using a collection of telescopes including ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory revealed that the dark patch is actually an empty region of space. At the time, astronomers believed that the dark patch in NGC 1999 was something called a Bok globule - a dense, cold cloud of gas, molecules, and cosmic dust that blots out background light. This image was created from archival Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations that date from shortly after Servicing Mission 3A in 1999. NGC 1999 is around 1350 light-years from Earth and lies near to the Orion Nebula, the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The most notable aspect of NGC 1999’s appearance, however, is the conspicuous hole in its centre, which resembles an inky-black keyhole of cosmic proportions. This peculiar portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcases NGC 1999, a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. NGC 1999 lies near to the Orion Nebula, the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. Otherwise known as Ced 55i, DG 60 or LBN 979, the object has a diameter of 0.6 light-years. The full size image is some 10000x10000 pixels, resolution of one arcsec per pixel. The nebula was discovered on Octoby the German-born British astronomer William Herschel. I used images from the DSS2 in two bandwidth, Red and Blue. In the case of NGC 1999, this source is the aforementioned newborn star V380 Orionis which is visible at the centre of this image. Here is a picture of M45 The Pleiades, the large star cluster with associated nebulosity in Taurus. Just like fog curling around a street lamp, reflection nebulae like NGC 1999 only shine because of the light from an embedded source. These knots contain sufficient mass that the gas and dust can begin to collapse from gravitational attraction. Turbulence from deep within these clouds creates high density regions called knots. One such stellar nursery is the Orion Nebula, an enormous cloud of gas and dust many light-years across. The NGC 1999 nebula is illuminated by a bright, recently formed star, visible in the Hubble photo just to the left of center. NGC 1999 itself is a relic of recent star formation - it is composed of detritus left over from the formation of a newborn star. Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust. This peculiar portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcases NGC 1999, a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion.
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